For Amalie's Love
by KarmaKat
Summary: A mysterious mortal with strange powers saves Shesshomoru's life, could she steal his heart as well? My first fanfic.
1. Prologue: Unintended Rescue

**_This is my first Fanfic of any sort so please, tell me what you think, any suggestions you might have on how to make it better are always welcome. _–KK**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, Sesshou, or any other inu char's, I barely own a beat to hell Dodge. Takahashi Rumiko: if you want it, the van is yours. (Please pay for delivery.)**

**For Amalie's Love**

Prologue: Unintended Rescue

Amalie

Fate.

Its funny how such a small, one syllable word can encompass an entire life so completely. Because of fate, I now stood, my back to a cage, fighting for my life against those whom I had sworn my undying loyalty too. Just three short years ago I would have given my very life to their cause unquestioningly and now those who stand against me will die painfully at my hands.

I was facing a good hundred of the Demon Killers and they had my back to their infernal cage but the yokai in me fought for release. Its need to be used was burning in me; I dispatched twenty of my closest attackers with a burning whip of that power. Whirling twenty more fell at my feet in pieces, those who where at the edge of my attack where writhing in pain from the poisonous effects of even the edge of my attack. At this rate I wouldn't even have to draw my sword, they probably would have been more easily dispatched with my Dokkasso claws, but I was trying to give them a chance to escape.

The yokai in the cage sat motionless watching the fight, his presence was a curiosity, I wondered if I should just dispatch him and remove him as a distraction, but his aura was not evil, and I had made a vow to the one who and given me my power. Today was his lucky day, I would kill his would be exterminators, and allow him to remain breathing.

Then it came. The moment of his arrival was signaled by the retreat of my inadequate assailants. "Demon whore! Surrender and your execution will be a swift one." A familiar voice yelled to me. It was a surprise to hear, even though I expected him to be the one the council would send to this foreign land, I regretted that I would have to be the one to send him the land of the dead.

"Whore? Jacob, your words sadden me. Even you should realize that I, of all people, would not have sullied my pure lineage by copulating with beasts." The contempt for such a disgusting idea dripped from my words. I stood calmly, my whip at the ready by my side, my hood covering my face, sweat made the black suite I wore cling to my flesh, my soft knee high boots where comfortably silent as I calculatingly shifted my weight from one foot to the other. The silver belt resting on my hips glittered in the light. Such a blatant display of the symbol of my oath must have made Jacob feel as if I was mocking him.

"To day you will die. I will remove that belt from your waist and present it as a bloody trophy to the council when they promote me to Lead Huntsman."

I smiled coldly, "Such a faithful dog of the council, I promise you will live only long enough to regret your hubris."

"You where once as loyal a dog of the council as any of our number, sister, before you betrayed us to the demons for your own gain." A female stepped from the crowd, even in her hood I recognized my twin sister Tansy, and the distress in her voice hurt me.

"If you betray even a loyal dog enough it will turn on you, sister. The council does not understand what it is doing here. Many of these yokai are different from the Demons we have in our lands, they are not evil, and by exterminating them we upset the balance. The council is only motivated by greed and its lust for the power they can gain from the corpses of slain Demons, stolen power that they have no right to!"

Jacob's contemptuous voice broke in, "Balance! Is that how you reconcile fucking a Demon when you had a lover of the true blood? It that how you excuse betraying your oath and trading your soul for these filthy powers you are so blatantly using to destroy your brothers and betray humanity?"

"So that is your motivation, Jacob, jealousy of my imaginary tryst with a beast? Do you truly believe that I turned my back on you, and my entire family, for the satisfaction of a Demon's cock? Do you truly believe that I would be so willing to slaughter my own sister for what worthless power I could gain from trading my body to an animal?" I laughed coldly. "You are a fool."

"Bitch, the truth is I have always been a better, stronger hunter than you, and without those demon's powers you would not survive a fight with me!"

"Prove it. You, me and our mortal swords, nothing else."

"Bitch, like I would believe you could possible fight me honorably."

Reaching to my belt I unhooked one of the small glowing charms, its red stone flashed as I inserted it into my bracer next to the vain in my wrist. Immediately my whip vanished and I felt weaker, mortal. "Now, Jacob, come prove your strength to me." I called, unsheathing my katana. Wordlessly he drew his sword and charged me.

It was odd fighting with only my mortal strength, constantly reminding myself to pace my attack so that I would not tire quickly, but my training stood me well. Hiroshi, the yokai who gave me my power, had lived almost four hundred years and the sword techniques he had taught me where as formidable as they where lost to mortal memory.

The fight raged on, Jacob had obviously been working hard on honing his sword skills in the three years we had been apart, but I was really just stalling, tiring him out in hopes that I would not have to kill him. Then it happened. I made a graceful forward slash with my sword and caught him in the left side next to the rib; he cried out in pain and stumbled exhaustedly backwards to lean on his sword and examine his wound. I stepped back to give him some room and found my back pressed into the bars of the closed cage door.

Surrounded by a hundred slayers and my back pressed so painfully close to the cage door a bar literally split my butt cheeks, and a charm restraining my yokai power, I must have appeared to be offering myself up like a lamb to the slaughter. Ridiculously I mentally chided myself for getting so carried away with playing with Jacob that I did not pay attention to my location in the room, I deserved to be killed for such blatant stupidity, but I had an ace up my sleeve as Jacob yelled angrily, "Kill the Demon slut!"

I quickly grabbed my bracer and undid the snap that held it in place, as it and the charm fell to the ground my yokai rushed through my blood, infusing my body with new vigor and strength. My aura unfurling from its constraint and enveloping me like a mantle. I laughed as the flood of attackers rushed forward to kill easy prey. I gleefully channeled my dokkasso attack into the blade and my sword began to glow venomously.

The fight took only moments, with my enhanced speed, strength and the burning poisonous fire emanating from my blade they fell like mowed grass, and I wasn't even breathing hard. Standing in the far right corner of the room stood my last two enemies. My eyes glowed hungrily as I approached them. I know I must have looked every inch the blood thirsty demon with my claws, I felt my fangs brush my lips as I grinned menacingly down upon their huddle forms.

Tansy was ministering to Jacobs wound, her body held before him like a shield. "Sister, no, if there is any humanity left in you, I beg you, do not kill us!" It touched me. Of course my humanity was in tact; the yokai gift Hiroshi bestowed upon me didn't erase my humanity!

"I'm not going to kill you, sister, or my former lover. I want you to deliver my message to the council."

"Bitch, the only thing we will deliver to the council for you is your head." Jacob spat defiantly, Tansy clung to him more tightly.

"Such brave words from a coward who lacks the honor to finish a dual and who fucked his betrothed's sister every chance he got. Tell me, did you truly believe I was so blind all those years, or just stupid?"

Tansy gaped, "Sister really we didn't…"

"Do not bother lying, sister; Jacob isn't even smart enough to remember the difference between your bras and mine. I knew years ago, and it is all of no consequence now. You will return to the council and you will tell them that this land is under my protection and that if even one yokai dies mysteriously, the slaughter here today will look like a Mayday picnic to the destruction I will meet upon the council hall itself. Am I understood?" My eyes burned and the poorly contained rage with in me made me look every inch the blood thirsty yokai. My sister only nodded her agreement. "Good, now leave before I decide only one of you is needed to deliver my missive."

Tansy dragged Jacob's weak form to its feet and they stumbled out of the room that had housed the Japan branch of the Demon Killers Guild as I stood tall shrouded in power and radiating menace towards them.

The sound of rustling cloth reached my sensitive ears from the cage, the yokai was standing as best he could with his hands and feet bound in the charmed restraints of the Demon Killers. He was wearing a charcoal business suite, grey silk shirt and matching mono-colored tie with an embroidered floral pattern and some sort of furry boa that should have looked ridiculous with the business wear, but for some reason suited him. "And now what will you do with me?" He asked in a calm, deep rumble. Ignoring him for a moment I glance down at my sword intent on re-sheathing it, but the acidic poison I had unleashed into the inferior metal had melted the blade into uselessness and I tossed it away before answering the yokai.

"What happens to you is of no concern to me, yokai, free yourself and go on your way." I said coolly retrieving the cages key form the wall and throwing it at his feet. I strolled from the room, not bothering to glance back, but I heard no rustle of cloth that would indicate he was reaching for the key. Banishing thought of him from my mind I left the building and began my walk home.

----------------------------

Sesshomaru

How could he have allowed himself to be captured by such an easy ploy? His agents had told him a about the vile Demon Killers that where invading his realm, and how they had nearly exterminated all of the yokai from the mainland. Yet it never occurred to this Sesshomaru that he, the powerful Daiyokai Ruler of the Western Lands, could have been a target for such pathetic ningens. Nor that they could indeed capture him. His hubris was his undoing. They had cleverly set up a meeting with his company using a failing bank as a cover for their plot. When he arrived at the newest acquisition of Taisho Corp. he was ambushed. They had lined the room with giant red stones that melted his yokai power to nothing. Worse he did not even notice the presence of these vile ornaments until it was too late. Then they threw a net braided with the little charms they used and locked shackles onto his wrists, ankles, and neck. They then dragged him to the basement as he fought futilely against his bonds. He was placed it the cage, shackled and powerless as a ningen. In retrospect he felt a bit foolish for the display he had presented to his captors, it was weak of him to show his distress, only proving how startling all of this was to him.

A day passed. His captors spoke English in front of him, probably assuming that he would not be familiar with their language, the fool. They seemed to be waiting for someone of importance to arrive before they executed him.

The man, Jacob, as Sesshomaru learned arrived that evening. He discussed his plans to steel Sesshomaru's yokai power and kill him in the process; the ritual was to be performed at moon rise.

The Daiyokai planned on how he would gut this man like a pig when he was freed.

The woman appeared an hour before the ritual. She entered the room with such force she splintered the door, an army of his captors at her heels. She did not seem to be running from the mob, to Sesshomaru, it appeared as if she was more concerned with finding something or someone. Her yokai aura rolled off of her in waves, it astonished Sesshomaru to realize her power was near his own, but he did not believe she could possibly equal him, he was Daiyokai ND she did not smell like a yokai at all. As the battle played on he notice his own techniques and power mirrored in this woman's attack.

The exchange between the woman and the leaders of his captors was entertaining, but did not reveal much about the intriguing woman, he did not learn her name, of her intentions in this place, or how she came by the power that was so like his own. The fact that she was human and somehow related to his captors was intriguing. The insolence in her to announce herself at the guardian of his lands angered him, but he would have to control his wraith if he was going to use her to procure his release.

When his remaining captors had fled he stood. He had to admit to himself, even with her face partially concealed in her hood and the shadows he was attracted to her strange and powerful scent and her yokai was strangely alluring.

"And now what will you do with me?" He asked calmly. "What happens to you is of no concern to me, yokai, free yourself and go on your way." She said coolly she threw the key out his feet and left not bothering to glance back. Sesshomaru waited until her footsteps disappeared before reaching for the key, in front of that strange ningen creature he would not kneel or grovel, even if it was to gather the key to his freedom. By the time he had removed the shackles and his yokai had returned even her scent was gone from the exterior of the building, _even more intriguing_ he thought to himself.

Maybe it was for the best, he wasn't sure he would know what to do if he had followed her and there where other things to deal with. His captors where long gone which was a disappointment, he was really looking forward to gutting the one called Jacob, but they and their council where now a target of his wrath and they would not get away.


	2. Ch 1:Steaks, Weasels, and Recognition

**For Amalie's Love**

Chapter 1: Of Steaks, Weasels, and Recognition

Amalie.

I was wearing a choker, which held two Demon Killer Charms next to my jugular. Since the conflict a week ago at the Demon Killer's lair my yokai was becoming harder to control, usually, I could suppress it without using the charms in my daily life. Lately; however, even the slightest irritation would bring it to the forefront and I would have to fight to regain control and not harm anything, a crowded restaurant was not the place for even a fake yokai to be rampaging.

I wore the charms all the time now, at home, at work, and in bed. For the first time in three years I began to wonder if the magic that had given me this power had some how damaged me, made me less human or not human at all. Could magic erase the centuries of breeding that made me of pure Hadrian/Vercon lineage? Could the magic have made me a demon? It is a tragic thing indeed when you realize you could be becoming your own nightmare.

That evening was the first time since the battle that I saw Him again.

It had been a long night at Mamoru's Bar and Grill with an hour before closing still to go. I'd cooked one hundred and six orders that night and I was at the end of my rope when the waitress Kameko entered the kitchen and said, "Amalie, There is a customer at table fifteen who wishes to speak to you about his steak."

"Toyo, take over the grill." I said to my prep cook. _What a long night,_ I thought as I made my way to the customer's table in my food-encrusted apron. At the moment I was glad I only had my poor human nose to smell me with. Contemplating the state of my clothing made me even angrier at the asshole that had the nerve to drag me out of my kitchen during a rush.

The five businessmen I approached didn't make me any happier, it was the table reserved for the neighboring Taisho Corp executives and they all looked pissy. "Someone here whished to speak with me?" I asked the tone of my voice a warning not to push me. My temper had been at an all time short since the battle at the old bank. "I just wanted to thank you for such a delectable meal miss, after all, well done is almost the medium rare I ordered," said a beady eyed, weasel of a man, in a cheap department store suite. _Great an executive- to-be who wants to impress the higher ups by being a dick wad._

"I'm sorry, sir, if you would please give me the offending steak I will gladly re-cook it, no charge." _You overweight cow, steak should be out of your diet, cannibalism is wrong._

"Well it's too late now I've eaten it; I just want you to know I'll not be paying for an unsatisfactory meal." His haughty tone and the sniggers from his companions triggered my thinly controlled rage. My yokai surged forward, but the charms kept it in check, boiling under the surface but not accessible, it was an agony I was becoming all too comfortable with.

"Well, sir, I will give you a few options on that front, either A: you pay for what you've eaten, B: We charge the credit card you have no doubt left at the bar, C: I could call the police and have you arrested for theft of service, or D: I could personally insert my foot up your ass as I throw you out of here, never to come back, and then charge your credit card. My vote is D." The calm tone of my voice did not hide my clear air of menace as the businessman began to argue about being a good customer and the like. The tone of his voice was haughty and demanding, _wrong tactic_. I didn't really here any of what he was saying; I grabbed the offending patron, with his pissy attitude, and began to drag him towards the door.

Without my yokai active, I am a 5'2", 115 lb girl, who practically lived at the gym and could bench 100 lbs easily. The slime ball I was dealing with weighed far more than that, but anger is a great motivator and he was in no physical condition to fight someone with combat training. I'd managed to get the now screaming asshole to the door, his companions, still at their table, where now laughing at the ridiculous scene; as where many of the other patrons. A shadow detached itself from the bar to my left and glided right into my path.

Distracted by my struggling charge I didn't really notice the addition to our little drama until he was directly in front of me, and only then because my burden had stopped moving completely and was staring immediately in front of us. Looking up I saw him.

White hair, golden eyes, pointed ears, crescent moon tattoo and purple markings; he wore another suite that would have cost me three years pay and that stupid boa and that overwhelming aura. My hands instinctively gripped the asshole tighter._ Oh shit, does he want revenge?_ _I'll never get my choker off in time;_ _maybe I could use the asshole as a shield to buy time._ The panic that accompanied these thoughts surged up when I recognized him, sending my heart into my throat as he spoke.

"Seeing as this man is still, temporarily, in my employ I will cover the bill he has so disgracefully attempted to duck, if this incident will not mar the good will my other employees may have with this establishment." That silky, calm, rumbling voice cut through my rage and fear like a hot knife through butter. I dropped the slime ball who now making whining attempts to explain his actions and save his job. I was to busy attempting to fit two understandable syllables together and form a response. _He doesn't want to kill me? Damn he's HOT._

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama that would be acceptable." I replied using, I hoped, the most formal and polite Japanese I could remember, I had never actually been told that this man was Sesshomaru Taisho, the most powerful Daiyokai and business man in Japan, but it seemed to be an obvious connection. _His aura is so strong I can feel it even without my yokai instincts_. _Damn he's tall._ _I wonder what it would be like to kiss those lips. Did he recognize me? _My thought whirled out of control as he calmly walked back to the bar, _Attracted to a demon! My Gods, that's a disgusting idea._ I shook myself and resisted the urge to rush home and shower.

A memory of Father Andrews, my council trainer came to me, "Demons can be very attractive, wishing to mate with mortals to gain loyal offspring who will carry out their infernal and depraved plans. You must always guard against the attraction. Mating with a demon will make you a soulless shell, with no control over your own actions." Living in Japan I had met a few hanyou and Hiroshi's mate was anything but soulless shell. I had seen her argue with him several times, belying the good Father's words, but a life time of trained repulsion at the very idea of mating with an animal was not something I was likely to over come.

Snapping back to the moment I returned to the kitchen. I noted that the Daiyokai had somehow managed to rid himself of the groveling business man and, more importantly, it did not appear that he recognize me as the woman from the Demon Killer's lair. The rest of the evening went in a blur as my thoughts where with Sesshomaru Taisho. Technically I had saved his life and he was duty bound to owe me one, but he may not see it that way. I thought over how I could use this possible advantage and I wondered about the creature himself and The DK's intentions. _Did Jacob know who and what he had locked in that cage? HOW had they managed to get such a powerful yokai in shackles in the first place? How did the DK's infiltrate this country in such numbers without anyone noticing? Whatever game they where playing, if they knew exactly who and what they had taken, then they are playing a much more dangerous game than I expected. Would the council come after me now in earnest? I'd better warn Diane._

I left the kitchen cleaning to Toyo, changed into my street cloths and went to the bar to get a shift drink. Surprisingly the yokai was still there, I tried to ignore him. "Kameko, would you please get me a monkey's desert, neat?"

"Sure thing, boss lady." She smiled and winked at me, and I laughed.

"Don't worry, Mamoru will be back on Tuesday and that hanyou of yours starts Wednesday so you won't have to deal with me in the kitchen or on the floor more than one night a week." I sighed dramatically, "I'll back in my dungeon with the ledgers, paper work and the mice. Once more, devoid of human contact and the joy of dealing with customers, oh whatever shall I do for entertainment?" Kameko laughed, while she prepared my shot, I watched the yokai from the corner of my eye, he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts and I relaxed.

"You could always tie some asshole up back there whip him whenever you get to bored."

"Now there's a possibility, but if he's just going to stand around in chains most of the time he should be nice to look at, with pretty hair like that guy we saw at the bar last night."

"He was cute wasn't' he?"

"Shoot, the things I want to do to that man aren't even legal in forty-nine of the fifty states, and their even considered bad taste in Alabama. Then there's that hanyou…" I grinned wickedly rubbing by hands together. Kameko laughed.

"Hand off, he's mine, but I may just need to borrow those chains and a whip…" She winked evil at me, I laughed, and her tone became serious, "I'm just grateful that you are such a wizard with numbers, Mamoru would have fired anyone else for what you did tonight."

"I did let my temper get the better of my manners again didn't I?" I sighed regretfully.

Kameko leaned over the bar and with a quick glance at the white haired yokai at the end she whispered, "I loved it, that guy is such an ass and he can't seem to keep his hands to himself, you're my hero, Amalie-chan, from now on all the drinks are on me." She smiled warmly, I took my drink from her and downed it in one gulp, "Thanks, girl, you coming over tomorrow evening or do you have plans with that cute hanyou we where just discussing?"

Kameko blushed, she knew my feelings on the matter, and they where not encouraging, but it was her choice what she dated and I was happy she was interested in anyone after her recent break-up with the herbalist. "Plans, can I have a rain check?"

I stood, "No problem, it'll just be me, Rinee, Damocles and the Lion King, but you owe me."

"Oh the horror, you truly suffer; however will I repay this great debt? "She mad a show of thinking hard, "How about cookies?"

"For Rinee you mean, but that's fine I don't have a domestic bone in my body so I never bake her anything, just remember my niece likes candy pieces and chocolate and you'll have to pack them for mailing," I said.

"That's right she leaving soon."

I just nodded sadly, not wanting that much of my schedule known to the sharp-eared yokai.

"I worry about you, Amalie-chan, you should find a man of your own, or at least a good one-night-stand. Being lonely all the time is not good for the soul."

"Men are like American cars, to much maintenance and not enough benefit. Sure they are good for your reputation and a fast ride. But they depreciate over time and you always end up trading them in for a better model sooner than the dealer led you to believe. Besides my soul has a number of greater threats against it than mere loneliness," I gave her a quick hug, "I have my dog he's male, and very loyal." I grinned. "Though he's going to be mad at me when I pick him up from the vet tomorrow," waving, I turned from Kameko's exasperated demeanor to the door and began my trek home.

-----

Sesshomaru

_I will have to fire that one. _He thought as he idly watched the drama of his soon to be ex-executive and the disgusting smelling cook unfold. It seemed apparent to him that immediate action would have to be taken before this buffoon sullied the reputation of his company's reputation. With a small sigh of resignation he stepped near the door and directly in the path of the ephemeral comedy and waited for their attention to be drawn to him. "Seeing as this man is still, temporarily, in my employ I will cover the bill he has so disgracefully attempted to duck, if this incident will not mar the good will my other employees may have with this establishment."

"Hai, Sesshomaru-sama that would be acceptable." The voice of the audacious American struck a cord; he recognized it from somewhere. Intervention complete, he walked back to the bar to consider this revelation. _I am sure I have heard that voice recently, but the only place I have been in contact with anyone who natively speaks English is that damned bank and all but three of those people are dead. It is not the voice of that one, Tansy and she does not have the scent or the power of the other._

The cheap buffoon was following him, yammering on about how he deserved to keep his job and begging forgiveness, "I have a family to support! Please sir, my wife…" _Blah, blah, fool if you cared about your family you would not have been so disgraceful, nor have continued dishonoring them by groveling in public. _"If you do not leave now, I will personally make sure your 401K and all stock options are liquidated and returned to the company as compensation for your clear ineptness in executing your everyday tasks. No more protests, or else." The pathetic creature gulped on whatever he was about to say and bowing replied, "Hai, Sesshomaru-sama" before departing.

Returning to his seat Sesshomaru retrieved his drink and sipped it, _though I suppose under the layers of vile smelling food mess she could have almost any scent, the aura is still wrong to be the one with the stolen yokai, intriguing._ The problem bothered him for another hour as he sat at the bar, ordering drinks and waiting for her to reappear, determined to interrogate her. If nothing else this pathetic cook was a possible step in finding the Demon Killers Council.

His quarry eventually emerged from the back of the restaurant. _She still smells of kitchen grease and burnt meat._ He noted with disgust. Originally he had intended on buying her a drink and using his abundant charm to coax information from her, perhaps by flattering her over how she handled his now terminated employee and if necessary he would resort to threat. Yet her scent was quite repugnant even at the distance of fifteen feet and it inhibited him from approaching her immediately; she started a conversation with the empty headed waitress.

Listening carefully he gained useful information about his prey. She was of some managerial importance to this establishment, probably an accountant from the talk of ledgers and numbers; she had a niece named Rinee, her name was Amalie, she was a dog owner, she was alone, and had a very cynical view of men. Yet there was no mention of where she came from, or if she was in anyway connected to the organization that had attacked him earlier that month. He decided to follow her; even if he stayed a few blocks behind he was confident that terrible stink would be strong enough to track.


	3. Ch 2:Violence, Deception, and Volume

**For Amalie's Love**

Chapter 2: Violence, Deception, and Volume Control

Amalie.

_Even to my nose I smell like a garbage heap, I can't wait to get home and take a nice hot bath, and then slip into my cool sheets and hug my wonderful pillows till morning. Gods my neck itches, damn velcro choker. _The truth of the matter is I am a creature of my appetites. I love to eat good food, have lots of good sex, drink coffee, taking long hot baths, and lazing in a cozy bed early in the morning or after a nap. If life could just be food, coffee, relaxing, sex and sleep I would have no complaints. At least I wouldn't have had a few weeks ago. Now I find that I also have cravings for other, darker things. My joys used to be a weekend with a good book, music, and good coffee while lazing in bed. I may not be a kind, sweet, submissive person, but until recently I believed I was an understanding, reasonable and good individual, no where near cruel or evil.

Violence. Part of me hoped that on my walk home someone would try to mug me, and then I could pull my chocker off, unleash my yokai and watch them suffer for their mistakes. Maybe I would come upon someone else being molested by a criminal and I could turn my malicious, bloodthirsty intent into something good, but it was the violence that attracted me to the thought, not heroic ideals. The hunger for violence detoured me from dating, I was able to control it for the most part in my day to day life, but just thinking about sex made me giddy with pent up fury, it was all tied too tightly together: passion, lust, animal aggression. I was terrified that if I actually became attracted to a man on a date I'd end up raping him brutally, probably before we even made it to his place.

I sighed, it's not like I'd had any offers in that department since I arrived in Japan anyway, but I really missed sex, it was such a nice way to whittle away an evening, and waking up in someone's arms, even if you don't care for them, is still better than waking up alone. Looking back, that is the only real reason I'd stayed with Jacob all those years. The prestige and power I would have gained by marrying into his house was minimal, but even a union of convenience was better than no union at all.

I was three blocks from home, lost in my thoughts, when I realized I was sensing a familiar demonic aura, and it was close. I stopped and openly scanned the street with my eyes. It was obvious he had been watching me for some time, letting him know his presences was suspected might draw him out. Fingering my choker I turned in a slow circle trying to gage where the aura was the strongest. When I felt it I continued my spin as if I was still confused about where he was, I let my hand fall from my necklace, dropped my head, and continued walking. I quickened my pace hoping I would look frightened to my nearby stalker and planned a change of itinerary.

_Well, he doesn't want me dead or we would have had it out in the alley eight blocks back, which means he either wants to know where I live or thinks that I lead him somewhere of more importance. He must have been following me since I left the restaurant, how could I not have noticed an aura that powerful? STUPID! He's a DOG yokai! Stinking to high heaven of kitchen grease and burnt food I bet I'm a venerable beacon from blocks away. Well, I'd rather he know where I workout than where I live._ I took a left on the next street and headed for the nearby gym._ With a change of cloths and a shower, utilizing a lot of soap, I should be invisible to his nose at least. _I swiped my pass key at the door to the 24 Hour fitness center and slammed it shut behind me. _At least he can't get in, yokai have no need for gyms_.

I undressed quickly taking my choker off last. My yokai powers flooded through my body, erasing my fatigue and overwhelming me with sensations. The smell of dirty gym cloths from the lockers, mildew in the showers, and the overwhelming awareness of the emotional inadequacy of the people in the surrounding rooms hit me like a Mac truck. Then I felt his presence. I could feel his aura from the roof directly above me, Icy and hot at the same time in rolled in waves through the ceiling making my whole body shiver. No wonder I had missed him earlier, unlike when I encountered him in the DK lair he was now intentionally broadcasting his aura, and it was not inhibited by DK charms. _Which means he must have been suppressing it earlier during my walk, what the fuck does he think he's doing?_ The whole incident took seconds before I jammed the choker back on my neck. _To hell with the velvet band, unless I have to confront him or he attacks me, this shit stays on until I get home._

The shower was hot and inviting. I scrubbed until my skin was raw with the effort and I applied a splash of my favorite mulberry scented oil to my body as I dressed in the red tank top and black jeans I left in my locker the previous day. Nervously I walked out of the gym into the post midnight gloom of the city. As I amble back up towards my street the presence of the Daiyokai's aura faded and I relaxed as I made the last few minutes of my trek home in peace.

Walking into my apartment I noticed the TV was still on and the forms of my erstwhile babysitter and her charge where curled up on the couch in front of it fast asleep. I spared a loving glance down at my niece's tiny sleeping body before picking her up and carrying to her room. Her furry little ears twitched and she woke slightly as I laid her on her futon. "Aunt Amalie, you're home." The child announced drowsily.

"I am darling, how was your day?" I asked tucking her short fluffy tail under the blankets.

"Izumi and I made paper planes and raced them in the living room, and I fell off the couch and bumped my head, but Izumi used a magic kiss and made it all better." _All kisses are magic implements of healing to small children_, I thought sagely.

"Well that sounds like a good, productive day, sweet pea, what where you dreaming about?"

"The circus I think."

"Ah, well I'll let you get back to it. Sleep well. And give the acrobats my regards, love."

"Yes, Aunt." She mumbled drowsily as I kissed her on her forehead and approached the door softly, "Aunt?"

"Yes, Rinee?"

"Your magic kisses are better; the ouchies don't hurt after one of your magic kisses."

"That's just because I'm a little bit more magical than Izumi, now go to sleep." I replied softly, but her regular breathing signaled to me that she did not require the order. _My kisses really do heal._ _Such a precious, simple, good life; she doesn't know how lucky she is, and by the time she does know, it will all be a reflection of the past._ I let a sigh of longing escape my lips for lost youth and innocents.

Back in the living room Izumi had woken up and was gathering her things together. "When does she go back home?" The sitter's question brought me back into reality. "The day after tomorrow." I answered.

"I will miss her." Izumi revealed.

"As will I, but her mother wants her back in the states before school starts, and I'm not sure her Japanese is good enough to attend school here yet."

"It is wonderful you are still such good friends with your brother's wife. That little girl adores you."

"No more than I adore her, Hiroshi and I where very, very close, and when he died poor Diane went crazy with grief. She needed so much help with the baby, Rinee was only two when her father passed, and it has taken Diane three years to come out of it. I was glad to take Rinee, she has been a light in my dark world, but I am even gladder that Diane is going to finally put their family back together again. It's not right for a child to be away from her mother."

"Hai, that is so true." Izumi responded.

I turned the TV off and pulled some of the evening's cash tips from my pocket. "Speaking of children away from their mothers, you should get downstairs to yours," I smiled, "Thanks so much for staying with her late, I know I said I'd be home early, but things got crazier tonight than usual." I explained as I offered her the money.

"It's no problem, Vercon-san, she was a joy." The teenager replied as we walked to the door.

Opening it for her I said, "Tell your mother I'll be down tomorrow to give her those pears I promised and you have a good night."

"I will, good night."

"Good night." I said closing the door behind her. As I prepared for bed, thoughts of the evening flooded through my mind. _Why had he done the volume control game with his aura?_ Memories of his aura washing over made me shiver with indescribable emotion and longing for that intense feeling. _For a Demon??_ More than anything that happened that evening, that longing alarmed me; I put a bracelet with DK charms on and gingerly removed the choker from my neck. _I need therapy, or a really good fucking, it's obviously been far too long if a demon is starting to appeal to me. _My last thoughts as I fell into bed and allowed exhaustion to claim me was,_ why was he following me in the first place? I hope inventory goes quickly tomorrow, its Rinee's last day... We should go to that Lion King play._

-----

Sesshomaru

It is not an easy thing for a yokai to suppress their aura, especially an aura as powerful as the one Sesshomaru possessed, but he was nothing if not a master of control. Reckoning that anyone associated with the DK in anyway would have some sensitivity to the aura's of yokai, he buried as much of his aura as possible before following the vile smelling cook through the city streets. Easily tracking her plodding footsteps and horrible stench, fifteen minutes passed uneventfully. As he watched her down turned and exhausted movements he thought, _it is unlikely that she will be going to meet one of her compatriots at that pace. Yet, a frightened rabbit will run for the nearest hole and reveal its lair. Perhaps an experiment to determine how sensitive to auras she really is will terrify her into finding safety with her fellows._

With that he unfurled the full power of his aura. Amalie stopped and immediately began searching the street and rooftops. _She plays with her necklace, the rabbit is nervous,_ he thought as she picket up her pace, _Now, where will our little rabbit run to?_ The thrill of the hunt was upon him now; he smiled hungrily as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop following Amalie. To him it appeared as if her path was now more random, a good sign he had frightened her into changing her intended destination.

When they arrived at the gym he experienced some disappointment and impatience. _Maybe she is calling a compatriot on a pay phone, or has some contact that works at this facility at this time of night. She is not smart enough to actually elude This Sesshomaru; even with a shower, her fear will alert me to her. _Schooling himself to wait he settled on the roof.

Moments later he was struck by a flash of that familiar and powerful aura coming from the buildings interior. It washed over him like a flash flood. Like a blow it hit him to his core and when it was gone, he was left breathing hard and shaking with longing for its return. Lust, rage and need boiled inside of him, his yokai form peaked out from his soul and his eyes burned with its need to dominate the creature that possessed that aura.

His mind reeling in shock Sesshomaru thought, _how can this be? How could something like that appear and then just vanish? I must find it! I must crush it! She is a ningen; she does not deserve to have such power! How could it affect me so?_ Sesshomaru fought the incomprehensible urge to smash through the concrete roof, find the woman who had made him feel like this, and prove that he could conquer that compelling aura.

With difficulty Sesshomaru fought himself back into a semblance of his usual calm and forced his mind to think rationally again. _How could it possible appear and disappear like that? It is not possible for a mere ningen to have control of a yokai that powerful. Inuyasha needed the Tessaiga to control his yokai and he was at least a hanyou. _Then the truth occurred to him. _Those rocks, that necklace, she wasn't nervous she was hiding her power with one of those charms the vermin at the bank used to capture me. _The full reality of what occurred on that street annoyed him. _She wasn't nervous, she wasn't running, she was choosing to not fight me. She may even think she was sparing me, the great Daiyokai Sesshomaru. _

The idea of Amalie's presumed attempt at mercy angered him. More his own misinterpretations of her actions, his shortfall at not recognizing her earlier, and the confused feelings that her aura had triggered in him caused the anger to become rage. _That insolent ningen slut! I will make her tell me what she knows of those parasites and I will make her beg for her own life for thinking that she was sparing me anything, and when I am done she will be the one who is grateful for being spared._

When Amalie left the gym he had his plan in order, he expected her to smell differently and to not be afraid. After all, she believed she hat outsmarted the Great Daiyokai Sesshomaru; a change of tactic was in order. He searched for a woman wearing that choker, gambling that she did not have another piece of jewelry with a charm at the gym to replace it.

His bet paid off. When the mulberry scented woman left the gym her choker was almost on display. The vibrant red of her top called attention to her torso and the low v-neck cut made the choker stand out. _That necklace looks as though it is declaring itself unworthy of brushing the fragrant flesh of those delightful breasts._ Lust burned forth at the unwanted thought flitted through his head and anger followed, _how dare she make me feel this way, she is nothing more than a ningen slut! It is that yokai I am drawn too; I am not attracted to a ningen whore! I will find how she has gained this power and rip it from her unworthy corpse._

After she had moved a block away Sesshomaru forces his aura down with a ferocious effort and followed at a distance. When she arrived at the apartment complex he waited five minutes before entering himself.

In the lobby he gained a reward for his patience. If she had taken the elevator he would have had to resort to sniffing the buttons like a common animal, but she had taken the stairs instead, and her scent lingered in the stairwell. He easily followed it to the third floor, her apartment was the first one off of the stairs, as he approached the door it opened and he quickly ducked back into the stairwell. "Tell your mother I'll be down tomorrow to give her those pears I promised and you have a good night." He recognized the voice of his quarry.

"I will, good night." A small, high pitched, girls voice responded.

"Good night." The door shut and an awkward looking teenage girl entered the stair well. Sesshomaru pushed passed her as if he where in a hurry to get to one of the apartments on that floor and then waited for the sound of her foot steps to disappear. Moving with demonic quickness he returned to the stairs and climbing one more flight took the roof access. From there he used the fire escape to reach the apartment of his prey.


	4. Ch 3:Antagonistic Advances and Inaccurat

**For Amalie's Love**

**_Author's Note: This one flew out pretty fast so I hope I didn't mess it up to badly, Again, this is my first Fanfic of any sort so please, tell me what you think, any suggestions you might have on how to make it better are always welcome. _-KK**

Chapter 3: Antagonistic Advances and Inaccurate Instincts

Amalie

I woke in a panic. A clawed hand was crushing my mouth and another held my throat firmly. His weight pinned my bedspread down, trapping my arms under the blankets. I let out a muffled cry of alarm. When he spoke his face was inches from my own, I felt his breath on my face and our eyes locked. "You will not scream and if you answer my questions, you might yet live to see the dawn. Nod if you understand my words." I nodded; wordlessly he lifted his hand from my mouth and rested it near my right hip, leaving the other on my throat. My heart pounded painfully in my chest, my yokai raged within me for release, and I was painfully aware of the bracelet on my wrist keeping it suppressed. _If I lived through this I swear I will never sleep with a charm anywhere near my person again._ I glared murderously at my captor, p_robably reveling in my fear, yokai bastard, _and I was afraid. My body was covered in a cold sheet of sweat.

He sat there, eyeing me for several moments before he spoke again, "Who are the Demon Killers and what is the council?" He asked.

"Do you have a week? That's a rather long story." My hopefully, calm and flippant tone belied the pounding of my heart. I was certain he was well aware that it was threatening to jump out of my chest and that my fright was doubtlessly palpable to his keen demonic senses, it would have been for mine.

As I contemplated the nearness of my own death my terror was not for me, but the young hanyou in the very next room. _If I cooperate Rinee might make it out of this safely. One thing I've heard said a lot about Sesshomaru Taisho is that when he gives his word he keeps it._ The thought was hopeful, but not terribly convincing.

"Abbreviate it." His icy tone tore through my frightened thoughts. With an effort I calmed my pounding heart and slowed my breathing. He wanted information and he'd get it, "First promise me you won't harm my niece." I demanded.

"You are in no position to be making requests, ningen." The last word was an insult from his lips. He flexed the fingers on my throat to emphasize his control of the situation. Yet on this I refused to cave. My life would mean nothing if I allowed harm to come to Rinee.

"You could kill me, yokai," I shot back, returning his contempt, "but if you did then you would gain nothing."

"I would gain the satisfaction of seeing you dead at my hand, Demon Killer." From his lips the term was a taunt. I laughed a genuine and bitter laugh and with that my fear of the yokai evaporated. He let out a warning growl, "You would great your demise so readily?" He inquired furiously, the rage sparking in his eyes, causing them to turn red.

"For my niece, yokai, I would with a glad heart. What humors me, however, is that after all of these years, and after all the Demon Killer Blood I shed just last week. In front of your own eyes no less; you are foolish enough to confuse me for one of them."

"I am many things, ningen, but this Sesshomaru is not foolish. Those others knew you. One called you sister, another called you lover and you admitted to being one of them."

"And then I challenged one to combat and killed a hundred others I do not know how things work between yokai, but that is not the way humans make friends. So unless you want to sit on my chest all night I suggest, in the spirit of cooperation and expedience, that you just make the damned promise. After, I'll tell you what you want to know." The red began to fade from his eyes.

"Why is a promise so important to you?" he asked for once curiosity flickered across his otherwise infuriated visage.

"Because, I know you'll keep your word." I said this calmly. The bald statement surprised even me. Yet I had a feeling in the depths of my soul that it was true. _I trusted him, but why do I trust him?_

He paused at those words; the remaining red in his eyes drained completely to white and he said, "Agreed then, I promise no harm shall befall the child at my hand."

I sighed heavily and responded in my most brusque tone, "Thank you, now may I please suggest a compromise, since what I am about to tell you will take quite some time?"

"And that would be?"

"I would really rather sit up, I find this position quite uncomfortable and you are cutting off the circulation to my legs. So as to not upset your position as my captor and allow me a bit more comfort my suggestion is this: if you would take your left hand and follow my right arm down to the wrist you will encounter a bracelet. By holding on to that bracelet you will be able to obstruct me from unleashing my yokai and using it to gain my freedom. As I am obviously no match for you in strength or speed, at the moment, you will remain in control of this situation and allow me to sit more comfortably while telling you what you wish to know. I am also quite willing to tolerate any other threatening gestures you feel are necessary, during and following the aforementioned procedure, since I acknowledge that I am not capable, at this time, to stop you."

"That is obviously a trick; if I touch that bracelet my yokai will be trapped also." He growled apparently angry I tried to make a fool out of him, ok DK lesson one.

"Ah actually, that's not true. Unless the stones are very large and using an external power source or incredibly numerous, they can only confine your power if they are in direct contact with your life line, meaning a vain in the wrist, an artery or a jugular. In addition, assuming that where not the case and I was trying to trick you, do you really believe my mere human strength is any match for yours physical brawn, even without your yokai power?" _That's it; hit the dog in the pride. _I inwardly grinned, and outwardly smiled my sweetest smile. What I said was entirely honest, but tweaking his ego was just pure malicious fun. Like poking a sleeping bear with a stick I really wanted to see what would happen.

He moved so fast I didn't even have time to register it. One second I was pinned under the blankets and the weight of his body, the next I was slammed to a sitting position in the corner where my bed met the wall. He was crouched on the balls of his feet so close to me he was almost in my lap, one hand was tightly gripping my right wrist and the other was resting on my left shoulder. _Wow, he's really close._ _His breath smells like chocolate._ My yokai had been relatively quiet since the initial shock of waking up captive to an obviously angry Daiyokai, but now it surged forward; the over powering emotion it brought with it forced me to close my eyes for a moment.

Desire, aggression and delight wrestled inside me. Apparently it not only enjoyed being manhandled and trapped, it wanted me to push back, and do some manhandling of my own and it was angry that it was unable to take control. I felt my wrist lifted and pulled towards Sesshomaru, his breath brushed my palm, causing my eyes to fly open. He was examining the stone at my wrist intently. "I thought these stones removed your yokai, and yet you still radiate a faint aura. I had not notice before." He said in a bemused voice.

"The stones suppress it, but it is still there. My yokai is always there." I could not hide the bitterness in my soft reply; momentarily entranced by his eyes and his breath on my palm I had let him see my shame. _Damn it, showing the enemy a weakness, my teachers would have whipped me for this._ I let a cold mask drop back over my features.

"Why do you where these trinkets? I have seen your power, it is formidable and yet you hide it." I wanted to tell him, about the evil that lurked inside. I wanted to share with him the poorly concealed need for violence I carried everywhere with me. I fought to keep my features cool and neutral. _Somehow, I feel he would understand. Why do I want him to know anything? How is it that I am so drawn to this yokai?_

"You came here for answers on the council, shouldn't you be interested in obtaining them, instead of asking about my jewelry choices? It shouldn't matter to you why I wear them, since it works to your advantage it's enough that I do."

"Indeed." He stared at me expectantly for several minutes before I realized that he must have been waiting for me to begin my story. With a sigh I did.

-----

Sesshomaru

Moving quickly he entered the apartment and realized there where two sleeping inhabitants in different rooms, he was curious for a moment before he recalled the conversation in the restaurant, _the niece._ Ignoring the child's room he followed Amalie's scent to the master bedroom and moving quickly he leapt onto the bed, pinning her beneath her blankets. He covered her mouth and grabbed her throat as her eyes flew open and she cried out in fear. He grinned menacingly and moved close, "You will not scream and if you answer my questions, you might yet live to see the dawn. Nod if you understand my words."

Her lips under his hand where warm and smooth, her pulse was slamming in her neck making his other palm tingle, and her fear was so strong he could taste it. It's scent mingled with the smell of mulberries and her own unique odor. _An intoxicating bouquet, this will be more enjoyable than I imagined at the beginning. I wonder what those yielding lips taste like. It is too bad that she is only a ningen, she would be a tasty treat if she were worthy of such things, but I will still enjoy making her pay for her earlier insolence. _ He felt her head nod against his hand and he let it fall.

"Who are the Demon Killers and what is the council?" Amalie's flippant remark annoyed him. _Baka ningen, I hold her life in my hands, she radiates her fear like a furnace, and she still has the impudence to be glib!_ "Abbreviate it."

"First promise me you won't harm my niece." He resisted the urge to let his claws rake the soft flesh of her neck and fill the enticing body beneath him with poison. _Insolent slut!_ Her fear was an intoxicating aroma that permeated the room and washed over him in waves. _She is terrified and yet she tries to bargain. Perhaps she needs to be reminded of her position, _"You are in no position to be making demands, ningen." He menaced flexing his claws. Her dismissive reply angered him less that the slowing pulse beneath his palm did.

"I would gain the satisfaction of seeing you dead at my hand, Demon Killer." His response was meant to send her back into a panic. He wanted to taste that overwhelming fear again and feel her pulse race under his palm once more. Instead she laughed with genuine mirth. Rage filled him and he growled low in his throat. _Baka, I hold her life in my hands and she laughs! Does she truly wish to die so easily?_ Rage filled him, "You would great your demise so readily?" Even his fury did not renew her terror, instead she continued to plead for her niece's life, and insulted him!

_This Sesshomaru is no fool!_ Her fear seamed to have completely evaporated and she almost appeared to trust him. While it was true that he would abide by any promise he gave it confused Sesshomaru that she seem so certain of that fact, considering that in the DK lair she was so contemptuous of his kind and recalling that he found a reply. "I am many things, ningen, but this Sesshomaru is not foolish. Those others knew you. One called you sister, another called you lover and you admitted to being one of them."

_She may not fight by there sides, she may kill them, but she shares the same opinion of her betters that those others did and she at least will learn to acknowledge the truth._

The conversation continued her demeanor changing considerably she was now like the businessmen he dealt with everyday. Her tone was matter of fact and calm, her words made him curious, _why does she trust me?_ She was skillfully composed, making him long for the delicious flavor of her fear again. Her proposal surprised him and his mind announced, _ah ha, here is the trick_, but his instincts told him she was not playing him false and he wondered, _why do I trust her?_ He learned about some of the stones' properties and promised himself he would guard against them the next time he encountered emissaries of the DK.

Then she smiled and he made his decision. Sesshomaru shifted his weight and with all his yokai speed he moved her, grabbing the braceleted wrist and shoving her into a sitting position in the corner. He felt it then, her aura rolling inside her body, fluttering just beneath her pale skin, burning against his own flesh it called to him like a familiar lover. Amalie's body radiated warmth from the bed. She smelled of sleep and slightly of desire, the need these sensations brought forth in his own treacherous body overwhelmed him as she closed her eyes and he felt robbed of the window to her soul, to the depth where her yokai was held captive, his throat went dry. Amalie's lips tightened over her internal struggle. _How can this ningen have this kind of power over me?_ As he resisted the urge to lean forward and capture those lips and force them back to relaxed fullness with his own, perhaps even bringing back that tantalizing smile. His hand, unbidden, brought her braceleted wrist close to his face. The smell of her skin was a sweet temptation, but he turned his attention to the small red stone over the vain, no larger that a dime and it held that formidable yokai in check; Inuyasha needed an entire sword to do that with less. Her hazel eyes flew open and he captured them with his own, curiously grateful that he could once again stare into their depths. "I thought these stones removed your yokai, and yet you still radiate a faint aura. I had not notice before." He was curious now.

"I thought these stones removed your yokai, and yet you still radiate a faint aura. I had not notice before." He said in a bemused voice.

"The stones suppress it, but it is still there. My yokai is always there." The bitter shame in her voice drew his attention. _Could it be that she did not want the power? That this is some sort of curse, which was laid upon her?_ And then images of her lithe form using that power in the fight at the bank, her aura radiating off of her in waves making the death of a hundred ningen seem like a simple and well executed dance, rushed unbidden from his memory and he was filled with contempt for her embarrassment.

_She should be grateful, her power is magnificent, and she should flaunt her gift, using it to her advantage. Regular ningen would bow before her and honor her magnificence, as they should. Yet she conceals and abuses her yokai, regarding it as something to be ashamed of, baka ningen, why?_ "Why do you where these trinkets? I have seen your power, it is formidable and yet you hide it." He needed to know the answer to that question, he was drawn to this ningen in ways that he had never been drawn to any other living creature before and an understanding of her might explain why he was so compelled, but she balked.

"You came here for answers on the council, shouldn't you be interested in obtaining them, instead of asking about my jewelry choices? It shouldn't matter to you why I wear them, since it works to your advantage it's enough that I do." Her insolence and her rejection stung him, he felt the answer to that question was pivotal in understanding the hold Amalie had on him, but he saw the logic in it. He was showing to much curiosity in her person. It would not do to indulge such idiocy on his part. So he answered her instead, "indeed," and while he waited to begin her story he examined her.

She was wearing a soft, red, cotton t-shirt and black cotton sleeping shorts. Her nipples where hard against the fabric of her shirt, but since the scent of desire had faded he assumed it was due to the cold rather than his own nearness. The light from the street made her auburn tresses glow in a halo around her thin face and she wore an expression of serous determination. The sigh that escaped her lips made him long to draw more from that tempting form, but he suppressed the desire angrily and quickly, as she began to speak. _What is wrong with me? Am I suffering a fever that she affects me so, or is it some sort of enchantment she placed when I wasn't noticing?_


	5. Ch 4: History Lesson

**For Amalie's Love**

_**Author's Note: this one is a bit boring, but I'll make it up to you, it explains a lot though.**_

Chapter 4: History Lesson

Amalie

"Let's see it was in the year 1309, about six hundred and ninety-seven years ago. In the Islamic kingdom of Granada, now a part of Spain where the Rock of Gibraltar lies, there where a wild mountain people living in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range who worshipped animal gods. These gods where vicious, monstrous and malevolent, some of them where very involved in the daily lives of their worshipers, demanding blood sacrifices and raping many of their followers. They ruled over the humans with cruelty and ruthlessness. Many half Demons where born to human women and these abominations where either quickly destroyed or killed their mothers in child birth.

"Later it was discovered that Demons where plentiful, but well hidden, all over the world. They survived by feeding off of the corpses on battle fields, or devouring the souls of the fallen. Many ate and drank the flesh and blood of both the living, and the dead. They often joined fighting bands or even national armies to be closer to the bloodshed. It was a bloody and atrocious time for mankind, Brittan was desperately trying to pull itself apart between war lords, the Ottoman Empire had just started to emerge as a world power and the seat of the Catholic Church was moved from Rome to Avigon France, upsetting their long held control in the southern regions of Europe.

"Spain was still quite loyal to the church and King Ferdinand IV was campaigning to remove the last two Islamic kingdoms from the shores of his land. He had laid siege to the port town of Algeciras and, learning of a weaknesses in the fort at Gibraltar, he sent Alonso Perez de Guzman to capture it. On this campaign where four men, Knights of the Eternal Flame, they where holy warriors of the church who's spiritual powers where said to be so strong they could fell whole armies by just voicing a prayer.

"These men became separated from their party in the Spanish Sierra Nevada Mountain Range during an unseasonable, terrible, snow storm, later it was discovered the storm had been caused intentionally by a Demon to obtain a large supply of food, but I digress.

"The knights stumbled upon the mountain inhabitants and learned of their terrible gods. They where all fierce warriors yet they also had their own unique traits. Andrius Vercon was an alchemist studying the properties of certain minerals and elemental compounds and their links to the divine. Darien Hadrian was as a holy mage of great power focusing his tremendous spiritual might with words and rites that could make whole armies disappear in a night. Mathew Fengrelie was a scholar and linguist, his joy was the understanding of different peoples and their peculiar ways in oorder to best bring them to God, and Broderick Ingram was their leader, a powerful lord in King Ferdinand's court, he had amassed a large fortune of his own he was always eager to accumulate more power and wealth. Demon Killer lore tells us these were noble men of high moral fiber and virtuous ideals. Ingram being the most noble of it all looking for nothing more than to free the enslaved Demon molested people of there oppressors.

"They gathered many of the young half Demons together in the guise of helping, and turning them into more human creatures. Many a mother turned over their abominations to the knights. The Halflings where kept in a dungeon and tortured for the knights' experiments trying to understand the weaknesses of the Halflings immortal parents.

"Andrius stumbled upon the unique properties of a local stone, that when used with the life line of one of the half Demons, suppressed their Demonic power. Mathew learned of a story that said a Demons power could be stolen and bestowed upon a human if a piece of the Demon's living bone was obtained, and with much practice and study he and Darien perfected the ritual to do so, imbuing items with Demonic power. They also discovered in their experiments that only those with spiritual power like their own could wield these Demonic items without becoming mindless monsters themselves.

"Yet, with all these new breakthroughs it was Broderick Ingram who decided what must be done with them. With the help of his fellow knights and followers they had gathered in their campaign, they set off to rid the human world of the Demon scourge. Ingram said that it was a mission from on high, a test from the almighty, and that when the last Demon was removed from this plane of existence, God would bid us entry to Eden and we would revel in eternal life and paradise on earth, God's chosen people.

"Ingram was also the one that suggested that since God had given us the knowledge to imbue items with Demonic power it was our right to take this power and used it to eliminate the Demons, and so the Brotherhood of Demon Killers was born.

"Years passed, the knight killed many of the Demons, their own power growing with each kill, but as the decades passed and they continued to age they looked for a way to pass their power, their traditions, and their knowledge onto their children, and so the Lineage of the Demon Killers was founded. A council was created consisting of the eight strongest of their children and the four original knights, its purpose was to send Demon Killers on missions to gather powerful Demons for the ritual, determine those worthy of receiving power from the rite, and to keep the lineage of the clans strong with spiritual power. Pure of any Demonic taint, and thus their holy mission was continued.

"As the centuries passed the council became more and more corrupt by their power, more guarded and jealous of their positions. Many of them looked to find a way to not only trap a Demon's power, but to steal their immortality as well. They went after the strongest of Demons and spread into parts of the world they had never been to before looking for answers in the lore of others and their Demons, China and Japan where two of these.

"It was discovered that many Demons kept their own extensive libraries and some even wrote of their lives in diaries. Those of us who where chosen to study these texts and interrogate Demonic prisoners where given special privileges and segregated in our own place, as was fitting of our status. We where proven to be the strongest warriors and the most loyal to the council. These attributes where necessary for this task so that our minds and bodies would not be twisted by the knowledge we obtained, nor by the Demon's lies, we where Huntsman, not just Killers." I paused remembering the joy and pride I'd felt when I had obtained that title, and the day five years later when I'd become Lead Huntsman, the day before I interrogated the foreign wolf Demon Hiroshi, the first yokai I had ever met. The day before my world changed forever.

My story told, I realized that I had had my eyes closed my head resting against the wall, I'd been seeing the whole story in my minds eye as I told it. The tale had taken hours to tell, it was nearing two in the morning when I finished and I was exhausted, _maybe I didn't tell it, maybe I was a sleep and I dreamed I'd told it_. I had been so lost in my tale I did not realized when the yokai relaxed into a cross-legged position diagonally from me. The hand that had been resting on my shoulder was now on my bare knee and he held my braceleted wrist almost gently in his lap.

"You are one of these Huntsmen?" _Well if this where a dream, I definitely would have thought of something sexier for him to say._

"I **_was_** the Lead Huntsman, once. Now I am just an abomination with a day job." I chuckled bitterly at my words, _Oh how the mighty have fallen, or rather thrown themselves out of an eighteen story building. _

"Because of your stolen power." His tone made it impossible for me to decide if it was a statement, an accusation, or a question, I opened my eyes and studied him. He had a look of bemusement on his face, _what can he possibly be thinking?_ I responded deciding it was a question.

"No, because I befriended a yokai I was interrogating, helped him and his family to escape, and irrevocably cut all my ties to the Demon Killers in the process. He bestowed upon me with the power I wield now, I suppose as a gift. He bestowed them during a battle for our lives, though there where other options open to him at the time. I don't understand his reasoning; maybe he wished to compensate me for the loss of my family and loved ones. No matter the reasons, the outcome is the same. If I went back to my home now, I would most assuredly be hunted and killed myself. Hell, I already am. By none other than my own twin sister and my betrothed of all people." Memories of my time with Hiroshi where very bitter sweet, mostly bitter, but the accompanying thought of how easily it was for my own loved ones to turn on me and sentence me to death reassured me that if my path was not the right one, it was at least the one I had to irrevocably follow.

"And where is that, this place you speak of?"

_If he wants to know where the council seat his why doesn't he just ask for it? Knowing the name of my home town doesn't fucking matter to him, why can't he just ask what he wants?_ "Its carved into the cliffs of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range out side of La Peza, Spain."

"That can't be, you are an American." _Thank you captain obvious!_ Again, statement, question, his tone was ambiguous. _I just want to get some sleep now._

"Ah, sorry, my home is in New Fork, Wyoming. I just assumed you wanted to know where to find the bastards responsible for your attempted murder. I won't jump to anymore-obvious conclusions from now on, do you need to know the name of my first dog next, it was Cathmor, or do you want more relevant answers? Just so you know I'm cold, it's getting early, and I'm exhausted and I can't very well use this evening as an excuse to get out of either work or spending time with a five year old. So, if we could hurry this along and get to were you either kill me or you get the hell out of my apartment, I would appreciate it."

"This Sesshomaru is not finish, ningen; I wish to know how you came to steal the power of a yokai." His grip tightened painfully on my wrist. _Ah, how it must hurt his yokai pride to be faced with a human that could hurt him in a fight, how presumptuous of me. Fucker, if I could take it all back I would gladly! And I still want to get some fucking sleep tonight!_

Exhaustion wore at me and making me hostile and blurry headed. Combined with the nearness of his body and the feelings his smooth hand on my skin produced made me want to vent my long suppressed sexual frustration somehow, and since fucking him was out of the question grousing seemed the next logical step.

So in my best crabby no-nonsense voice, "Look, I've just about had enough of this big bad yokai captive crap and that particular story isn't really important to any revenge you may be plotting in that sexy, little, yokai head of yours. So here's the deal, come by the Mamoru's, not tonight, since is technically Tuesday now, but tomorrow night, and I'll tell ya the whole sordid mess. Unless you really feel the need to kill me, then get it over with, I really need to get to sleep." I declared, closed my eyes I waited for either sleep or demonic death to claim me, being too tired to care which got there first. _Did the word sexy just come out of my mouth? God I must be exhausted, but it's been a long day. What with going to the park with Rinee, work, dragging customers around by their shirts, being stalked by a demon; then ending it with an ambush and a rousing game of Mexican stand off, I think I could use another drink._ I don't know when he left, but my next memory was of morning light through my window, warm blankets wrapped around my still sitting form and the insistent banging on my door.

"What?!" I yelled from my cocoon.

"Aunt Amalie, breakfast time. Hurry up this is the last day and you promised!" An indignant child's voice penetrated my daze, time for chocolate chip pancakes with, chocolate chip mint ice cream and chocolate syrup.

----

Sesshomaru

Her account was long in it's telling and her exhaustion was evident. Sometime during her tale his anger towards her had mellowed with the sound of her soft hypnotic voice and her peaceful countenance. He relaxed into a sitting position. Her story explained much and she had been honest about the charms effects on him. He rested his hand upon her knee and was momentarily distracted by the warm smooth flesh. He caught himself running his fingers idly a crossed it and stilled quickly focusing on her narrative, but he could not bring himself to remove his hand from her knee.

When she neared the end he noticed the change in pronouns, them and they became we and our. She never denied that she had been one of the lunatics, but she now told him what she had done. She admitted to torturing others of his kind and her voice did not show remorse, but pride that she was not just a killer but an inquisitor as well. "You are one of these Huntsmen?" He asked.

"I **_was_** the Lead Huntsman, once. Now I am just an abomination with a day job." Amalie did not bother to hide her bitterness, she was far to tired of it all to continue games now. A_n abomination with a day job._ Her resentful words disturbed him. _She has gained a distinctive title in this group, she has been granted power and honor for her place and yet she now kills her own kind. Why? For what purpose did she choose such a useless path? Did she crave the power of those she tortured to much? Was she not granted one of the items of power herself? Did she envy her prisoners, or is it some weaker ningen emotion? _A_n abomination with a day job. Baka she obviously longs to be an ordinary week ningen! Abomination, I can readily agree to that, she cannot handle the power she traded her world for!_

"Because of your stolen power." He made it a statement not expecting an answer and the one he received was not one he would have anticipated. She had turned her back on her whole world and the power she had obtained to befriend one of her sworn enemies and save not only his life but that of his family as well and was not even promised the powers she now abuse. Sesshomaru found his thoughts spiraling into deeper question of her motivation, her character, for the first time that night he wondered about the hanyou in the other room_, what is her relationship to that creature, why is the child even here instead of with the deviants that spawned it?_

He was bothered more by his craving to know her thoughts and personality further than his yearnings for her flesh; he could at least justify momentary lust. _Why would I care, this is pointless. This Sesshomaru must focus on the important task, this ningen is nothing more than a distraction._ She had mentioned the place she came from, a place presumably full of DK's and he asked her it's location. Mountains off of the coast of Spain startled him, from her manner and accent he would have sworn she was an American. But her pale, silky skin was not Spanish. He had meant to phrase it into a reasonable question, but the confusion in his mind that this woman created was like a miasma to his thoughts and he just blurted out, "That can't be, you are an American."

Her annoyed response to his poorly worded statement embarrassed and aggravated him, he had intended on leaving her to her bed, she was obviously near the end of her body's resources. His hand tightened on her bracelet, i_f I removed this bracelet her exhaustion would surely be alleviated by her yokai,_ the thought flickered a crossed his mind for an instant before being dismissed by more pertinent one. _How, if she did not want the power in the first place, did the uppity bitch obtained it_? He would have that answer from her. "This Sesshomaru is not finish, ningen; I wish to know how you came to steal the power of a yokai."

Her defiant response startled and angered him, he wanted nothing more than to beat the impudence out of her. He contemplated giving into his strange lustful urges, _after all I promised I would leave the child alive, but I could easily fuck her to death and leave the corpse for the kid to find. She called me sexy... No, killing her now would just be unwise, she may yet prove to be useful in destroying the Demon Killers. She knows their lair and their ways. _Pulling himself from his contemplation, his captive's slow, even breathing signal to him that his prisoner was fast asleep.

Gazing down at her still form he resisted the urge to shake her awake. Instead he took her comforter and wrapped it around her shivering form before leaving the way he had come. Wednesday night would have to be soon enough.


	6. Ch 5:Wolves, Balance and Baby Teeth

**For Amalie's Love**

Chapter 5: Of Wolves, Balance and Baby Teeth

Amalie

The day went smoothly until noon. Rinee had her special breakfast, we packed all but what she was wearing and a change of cloths into her new, five piece, Disney Princesses luggage set. Then she accompanied me to the restaurant to do inventory where she occupied herself by 'helping' me read the package labels for two hours. After that we went to the park across the street to enjoy a picnic lunch and for her to play on the slides before the evening's Lion King Live performance.

The park was where I met Him again.

It started innocently enough with an encounter with my employer Mamoru's loathsome mother, Watanabe Yumi, a more bitter, and hateful woman I have never met. How she managed to raise such a sweet and out going son I can't fathom.

I was pushing Rinee on the swings after our lunch when I heard her dried, crackling voice call out my name, "Konichiwa, Vercon-san! Stay right there we need to talk!" My first instinct was to grab Rinee and bolt, I could easily out run the old witch and I really didn't need the insane lecture that was about to be addresses to me. Yet, politics or politeness kept me from fleeing. I leaned over and whispered into Rinee's ear, "I'm a goner, run to the slides and save yourself." I was not the only one who had, had a bad encounter with Yumi, the child nodded once and escaped.

"Konichiwa, Yumi-san, what can I do for you today?" I said in my most cheerful tone as I enviously watched the liberated five-year-old's back ascend a slide.

"I see you still need to work on your on your Japanese. Even after living here all these months you do not know how to address your betters." _Oh this is off to a great start. _"I am sorry Yumi-_sama_, I will strived to improve myself. What is it I may do for you?" _Just get it over with you old bat. _The ancient hag seemed to think that because I worked for her son she had some sort of position of power over me and that she could order me to do things, which were far outside my job description. Like taking out the garbage at her home and shampoo her dog. Mamoru and I had worked out a system early on were I suffered her insanity, he took care of his mother's crazy demands and I got free meals at the restaurant for putting up with it all, but with him out of town the fabulous plan went out the window. _Poor Mamoru, he will pay dearly for this._ I thought envisioning whole chocolate torts and top shelf liquor going home with me for weeks.

"Well, no matter _now,_ I am glad you are here! Mamoru will not be back for another few hours and I need to be driven to my hair appointment right now." _How the hell did you get here from your apartment you stupid crow, take the cab you came here in. _Yeah, I wish I'd said that.

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint, Yumi-_sama,_ but I am here with my niece and I don't own a car. Nor do I have a license; I believe you will just have to call yourself a cab."

"What no car?! What good are you if you can't drive me around! Wait until my son hears about this, you'll be fired; you are absolutely useless to me! Call me a taxi then this instant!" She screamed at me. I gritted my teeth and resisted the overwhelming urge to make her an old lady smear in the grass. _Think steak, think chocolate truffle tort, think a twenty-year-old bottle of_**_Pappy Van Winkle's_, **_think of making Mamoru pay…_ Wordlessly I pulled my cell phone out of the pocket of my jeans and began to dial the number. _I hope she trips getting in and knocks herself out._

The woman's yells must have alerted Rinee; she had abandoned the slide and mustered enough courage to return to my side. Tugging at the evil witch's skirt she asked in halting Japanese, "Excuse me Yumi-Sama, but could you please tell me something?"

The old woman's features softened as she gazed down into Rinee's innocently upturned face, "What is it dear?"

"Was the Lord Buddha a really handsome man?" Her face was a mask of hopeful inquiry. I turned away from the scene to hide my smile and suppressed a laugh as I gave directions to the taxi company's operator.

"Well why would you ask me that?!" Yumi inquired, puzzled.

"Well you are the oldest person I know, so I thought you would have met him when you were a girl."

Yumi turned the most amazing shade of scarlet and her eyes looked like they would pop right out of her head, as the sputtering woman tried to yell through her outrage Rinee fled to the shelter that my body would provide from the inevitable eruption. Hanging up the phone I turned to face the infuriated Yumi, "If I were you young lady I would beat that child within a half inch of her life for disrespecting her elders in such a way!"

"I will address this matter with my niece, Mrs. Watanabe. Rest assured she will get what's coming to her, and I apologize if her youthful exuberance has offended you in any way." I bowed low, more to hide my overwhelming mirth than out of respect, I really hated that woman, "also the cab will meet you at the park entrance it about five minutes." I said straitening.

"Fine I'll go over to that bench and wait, and you," a gnarled finger poked into my chest, "buy a car and teach her," The finger swiveled to Rinee's face, "Some manners!"

"I will take the suggestion about the car under advisement." I guaranteed the woman as she began to hobble to the far away bench. I looked down at my cowering niece. "Hotaru-chan, that was very nice work. You can get anything you want at the restaurant tonight, and extra ice cream before bed."

"So, you are raising your niece to be just as insolent as yourself it seems." The now familiar voice washed over me from behind in a chilling wave that did nothing to cool me. I turned to face Sesshomaru, but before I could say anything Rinee stepped forward, "I know you. You're the man that was in Aunt Amalie's room last night, I heard you." The statement startled me and drew my attention to my niece.

"What did you hear, Rinee?" I asked sharply the worry evident in my voice, _how can I possibly explain last nights encounter to a five year old?_

"I didn't actually _hear_ any words but I heard voices, yours and his." He finger briefly pointed to the yokai before she lowered it and glance to him and then me thoughtfully, "His wasn't very loud, but it's one of those neat, rumbley voices that kind of goes through walls, and you talked a lot. Were you telling him a bed time story?" her eagerness reassured me that her sensitive ears had not actually heard what was said in my bedroom. She looked at Sesshomaru and giggled, her tail wagging excitedly and she clapped her hands, "Aunt Ama tells the best bedtime stories! Did she tell you the one about the gopher hanyou and the bicycle? Or the one about how the dog yokai escaped hell?" She bounced around eagerly chattering at him, "My Aunt Ama is really pretty; she's the prettiest lady in the whole world. Except my mamma, she's gorgeous! Have you met my mamma? I'm gonna go back and see my mamma tomorrow and I'm gonna live with her forever and we will be a great, big, happy family." Her words momentarily spent, I stepped in to either save the Daiyokai from my niece, or vice versa.

"Hey Rinee, go over their and show Mr. Taisho and me how fast you can cross those monkey bars, way over there." I pointed to the furthest corner of the playground.

"Sure, are ya gonna come over and watch me?"

"No sweetie we get to see everything better from here were we can stand and watch you. Over there all we see is the monkey bars, here we see the whole playground and we can see everything you do."

In a very serious little girl tone Rinee said," Great, so Mr…. um, sorry, I for got your name, anyway… When I'm done with the monkey bars, watch me go down the slide I can do that really fast too." And with that she ran off and left me with my former captor.

Nervously I checked my watch and called to her, "We have to leave in thirty minutes if we're going to get to that play on time, sweetie." Then, the silence stretched while Rinee crossed the monkey bars several times, the turned to the slide and then settled in the sand box to apparently play with a little boy and his dump truck.

I finally turned to Sesshomaru and inquired crossly, "And you're still here, why?"

"Answer my question now." He commanded calmly, _Huh?_

"What questi... The yokai thing!" I was outraged. "I am not going to go into that right here and now in a public park. I told you when and were we'd finish that conversation and you're just going to have to deal with that." I expected a violent response to my discourteous words, but he just mutely, turned and walked away. _What a truly creepy man. _I thought as his silent form receded into the distance.

The next day passed in a blur of packing, crying and fretful airport security as I pressed Rinee onto her flight to Detroit at three that afternoon. Then I picked my dog Damocles up from the vet, and we made our sad way home to the now much emptier apartment were I dressed for work.

With Mamoru back in town I regained my role as accountant, stock clerk and Wednesday night floor manager. Normally I only wear a slight brushing of eye shadow, but I put extra care into my makeup that night, and did not analyze my motives very thoroughly as I curled my auburn hair and pulled it back slightly with a single silver clip. The style made my hair look barely tamed, as if the clip would give out imminently and let my unruly locks free at any moment. I wore a bracelet set with DK charms on my right hand, and a pair of earrings also set with the red stones. Useless for anything but decoration, the earrings looked stunning next the single band of black velvet I wore around my neck. _Sexy, yet professional,_ I thought with one last, happy glance at the mirror before rushing to work. The short black skirt road my thighs well and complimented the red, long sleeve v-neck sweater I wore and set my black knee-high boots off fabulously. I felt confident that I was as attractive as I could be.

Walking into the restaurant that night I encountered a circus. Even with three waitresses on the floor, our best bartender and four chefs in the kitchen the place had managed reduce itself to a spectacle of incompetence under the strain of the dinner rush.

"Amalie! I'm so glad you're here, we ran out of noodles and so Mamoru is in the kitchen struggling to find a new dinner special with Yashi and the foods coming out all wrong, or cold or at different times." Kameko rushed to follow me with her tale of woe as I started walking towards the kitchen.

I noticed Sesshomaru immediately; he was sitting between the bar and the kitchen entrance, wearing black dress slacks and a white silk shirt. He was perfectly positioned to observe the tragic comedy unrolling before him as he sipped what looked like cognac. "We have sixteen tables, and seven, including the Taisho Corp VIPs, only have one or two of the orders on them and no hope of finding the rest of their food. Table two got their entrees before their appetizers and salads and the husband is spitting mad…"

I cut Kameko off abruptly as I opened the kitchen door, "I'll handle this; you go to table two and offer them a complimentary bottle of wine and free desert, tell them I'll be by in a moment. Also, tell table fifteen their meals are on the house and they should also expect a visit from me, also make a list of the tables that are still having issues and I'll get to them too." I entered the kitchen and closed the door in her face without waiting for a reply.

The scene before me was not encouraging. "You idiot, not green peppers, red, RED, you color blind dolt, if you destroy the presentation you destroy the whole meal!!" Our new executive chef, Mochizuki Yashi, a hanyou of dubious temper, and Kameko's new beau, screamed at a cowering Toyo, "Now Yashi I'm sure that Toyo would have taken care to present it right if you'd given him a chance." Mamoru's calm, placating voice broke it.

"Give him a chance to ruin it!" Yashi replied raising a threatening fist above Toyo's head, as the entire kitchen stood stock still watching the drama, all pretenses at working were forgotten in the excitement.

"ENOUGH!" I roared, "Frankly I don't care if it looks like steaming piles of dog shit. I want more plates to start hitting more tables in the right order in ten seconds or I will close this restaurant and fire every last person in here without recommendation or compensation pay." I shout and then lowering my voice to a calm threat, I asked "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes'm." The kitchen staff replied in unison and threw themselves back into their work. Indignantly Yashi exclaim, "This is an outrage, how dare you threaten me and my kitchen staff, you aren't the boss here, missy."

I glared pointedly at the nervous Mamoru, "I think the lady may have a point there, uh, Yashi. If we don't get food out in a timely manner then our patrons may find um, another restaurant." He always seemed to have a problem just taking charge.

"I can't work like this, no woman orders me around in my own kitchen! Perhaps your restaurant should find another Chef!" Mamoru blanched in the face of Yashi's obvious rage.

"If you would like to relinquish your position as chef so soon I am quite open to the idea. However, Mr. Mochizuki, if you were to quit I would personally make sure that a certain lady of our mutual acquaintance would know it was a solely cowardly act on your part and that any comments to future prospective employers on your behalf would not be flattering to your abilities in anyway." I threatened coolly.

"You wouldn't dare!" the Hanyou yelled.

"Try me." I challenged quietly as I turned and left the kitchen, with Mamoru at my heels. "Nicely done, Amalie, now if you have this all under control I'll just, um, be off now I have a late um, business meeting with a um… prospective investor."

I sighed and rolled my eyes heavenward, "Sure thing, **_boss_**, give Shina my love and try not to grab her ass so much. I'm sure that it'll help your cause if you make an attempt to be a gentleman."

He smiled sheepishly and pecked me on the cheek; "I leave this place in your capable hands!" He called already on the run to the door. I regarded the fleeing manager with disgust. _That_ _cowardly bastard is leaving me to clean up the mess_, I sighed, _oh well time to deal with table two, _I thought resignedly as I strategized damage control. As I put on my most apologetic and polite face. The ensuing butt kissing and crisis management consumed the next three hours. I didn't have a chance to spare the corner booth even a backward glance, and had almost forgotten my much anticipated appointment by the time I slumped onto a bar stool in front of Kameko.

"I just want a really large cup of coffee, Kam." I said, "With an equally large shot of Kahlua in it."

"Um, Amie-chan, aren't you still on shift?" My friends replied.

I sighed heavily and rolled my eyes at her. "Kam, my dear, you are such a party pooper. Fine, I'll just take the coffee, black."

"Good choice." She gave me an exaggerated smile and slid the cup of coffee down the bar to my waiting hands. Taking a sip of the heavenly elixir I let some of the tension of the night drain from me, _everything is gonna be ok, two more hours and I'll be soaking in a bubble bath._ I cheered at the thought, but my daydreams of bubble baths evaporated with the interjection of an icy voice behind me.

"I am not accustomed to being ignored or stood up. We had an appointment, Amalie Vercon." My name from his lips startled me. _How did he know?_ I thought dazedly, but then dismissed the stupid thought. _Duh, I march around the restaurant every day with a nametag on. He had a million opportunities just tonight to learn my name. It sounds nice coming from him, _and I longed to hear him say it again but I brushed the irrational thought aside.

"My apologies for not coming over and saying hello, Sesshomaru-_sama_," throwing my distaste for his attitude into the title, "and making you feel ignored, but our appointment was vaguely for this evening, and to my knowledge the night is still not over." _What is it about this guy that just gets me bent around the wrong way?_

"Is this guy bothering you, Amie-chan?" I looked up at Kameko's question to see Yashi behind her glaring dangerously at the confrontational yokai, his ears twitched in annoyance. _Oh crap, Yashi's still pissed about earlier and spoiling for a fight._

"No, Kameko, in fact Mr. Taisho and I have some business to discuss," I gave the emptying restaurant a quick glance. "I would appreciate it if you would keep an eye on the floor, we'll be in booth eight if you need us."

"Hai," she replied tentatively still eyeing the yokai, without another word to my companion or my friends I took my coffee and headed to the secluded booth it the far corner of the restaurant, Yashi just continued to glare as we left the bar.

"You conducted yourself well this evening. You are evidently a skilled administrator and businesswoman when you wish to be. It is obvious why the owner of this establishment puts up with your poor attitude and insubordination." _Well it was almost flattery._

"With such a moving compliment, it is no wonder you resorted to stalking, coercion, assault and breaking and entering for our initial meeting." To those words, he blushed and I was filled with gleeful delight. _I made the ice king blush! Why is he blushing, could he really be embarrassed by his invasive behavior the other night? He really is quite attractive._ I had to wrestle the urge to discover a way to make him blush again.

"It seemed like the most direct tactic to obtain necessary information." his down turned face muffled his quiet reply. The deep voice was calm, but his eyes were focused on the button of his shirt cuff and would not meet my own. _Awkward!_ The amused voice in my head sang it's satisfaction and I realized I was enjoying this conversation immensely. In fact, I had been looking forward to his company all night. _This is NOT a date; he is a yokai for God's sake!_ I scolded myself, t_he sooner I tell him this, the sooner he goes, the sooner I can forget about him and find a decent, **human** man to obsess over._

"I received my yokai from a jewel a wolf yokai named Hiroshi held in his possession, he granted me this gift during our fight to save his family and himself from the DK council, three years ago. He died at my own hand soon after." My clipped tone belied all the emotion that short statement held for me.

"I believe you misunderstand my request, I wish to know the full story behind how you came to posses this power. You may start with how you came to know the wolf yokai and were he obtained the jewel." Sesshomaru demanded in an agitated voice.

"I fail to understand why it interests you so, what does it matter?" He did not reply he just waited expectantly, "Fine." I said crossly and without any further conversation, I abruptly launched into my story.

"Three and a half years ago the council obtained our first Japanese demon, as well as his human wife, their half-demon daughter, and his journals as they departed a private plane at a secluded landing strip in the Mojave Desert. The false emergency stop had been arranged by the council in order to obtain information prior to our attack on the demons inhabiting Japan, but it was my plan." I never took my eyes from him as I recounted this tale, I had this nebulous idea that by gauging his reaction to my past misdeeds and my attempted redemption I would know if anyone on either side of this conflict would approve. I believe that I was looking for validation, proof that by betraying my clan, my world, I had done a noble thing and not committed the sheer weak act of perfidy I secretly felt it was, not even Hiroshi knew the whole truth.

"As the council's Lead Huntsman I was placed is charge of the crucial and delicate operation. During the strategy phase I was struck by the fact that the demon Hiroshi traveled with a human, and I was stunned to learn that he was married to her. In my experience, demons would often mate with humans but the mortals were often killed, or in some cases, left to give birth to their monstrous off spring, but never married. It was not uncommon for a demon to claim his half-human offspring but initial reports indicated that this one was genuinely fond of his daughter, and even doted upon her and his wife. I can say with out reservation now, that I found the situation not only bewildering, but also quite repulsive.

"Initially I considered using the safety of his much weaker companions to ensure his cooperation, but the emotional ties of demons are fickle at best and unreliable all the time. The show of affection could have been a very shallow one, and was not something I was willing to bet lives on, my orders were to take all inhabitants on the plane alive for two reasons, the first being that humans are easier to break than half demons, and if the child could not be used against the father a threat to her continued well being would open the mother up like a dropped egg." My eyes had drifted down to my nearly empty coffee cup; it had become impossible for me to meet his piercing gaze. _What does he see when he looks at me?_

"Is this child the same one who accompanied you to the park?" Sesshomaru's question made me glance at his face again, but it was unreadable.

"Yes, Rinee was only two at the time." My reply only elicited a thoughtful, "hmmm" from him; looking back to my coffee cup, I took a sip and continued my tale. "The attack on the plane went smoothly, it was a good plan, the only miscalculation on my part was my underestimating how hard the demon would fight to protect his family, and I had not expected the Diane to fight at all. Yet she was almost as fierce as her demonic lover, and I am not ashamed to say, her ability with the sword out matched my own. We had to resort to knockout gas to stop her and threats to the child's life to compel Hiroshi to stop struggling. All in all, the encounter left me shaken, it was not at all the way I had become accustomed to dealing with demons. His behavior was baffling and when I found that he was not using any tricks to control her actions completely amazed.

"I started the interrogation that night. My Japanese is not perfect, but I know the rudiments of fourteen spoken languages and twelve written, including four dead languages, it was not difficult for me to converse with him, but for the first three hours all he would speak about was his family and their welfare.

"We moved all of them to La Peza the next morning. Initially, what I learned in his journals was of more use to me, and it became apparent quite early that while there were many demons in Japan that resembled what we had encountered in the past, these oni, were out numbered by other yokai who were not malevolent towards humans and kept the destructive oni in check, but you know all this. The point is that, at the time, it was news to me and I interrogated Hiroshi on the subject and I came to believe, as he did, that by removing all demons, all yokai, from the world we would be upsetting a balance of power that has been maintained for eons between this world and the next.

"I learned from Hiroshi that periodically the next world would assault this one and yokai such as the Inu-no-Taisho would go to war to keep the balance. Hiroshi apparently served under this dog general in one such battle and was given the gift of a small canine tooth encased in an amber jewel. It was one of the artifacts we had claimed from Hiroshi's person." At the mention of the dog general, Sesshomaru sat forward more intently and gave me a painfully focused look. _Inu-no-Taisho, Taisho… Could he know the dog general?_

"This living tooth was, tiny, almost infantile, but was apparently from a very powerful demon. The jewel kept the tooth alive is some way to be used as Hiroshi saw fit, it would increase the power of any lesser yokai who used it ten fold.

"Hundreds of years after the Inu-no-Taisho's death Hiroshi learned from a sword smith named Totosai that the tooth came from one of the Dog General's own sons and it could also grant Hiroshi's wife yokai power and immortality, but it could only be used once, and only by him. It was only at her wishes that Diane remained mortal and the tooth had fallen into the hands of the council. The council, however, could not find any demonic aura or power in the jewel and had discarded it as a trinket. It had been included in the items I received with the journals; initially we thought it might have been a plaything for the child.

"During the six months I interrogated Hiroshi and his family I learned the secret of the jewel and I also became convinced that our strategy for exterminating the demons in Japan was reckless and need to be reconsidered. I found that I had become genuinely attached to this yokai and his family. In my own mind, they had become something other than the demons I had been raised to hate and trained to destroy. His words, actions and manner were completely unlike the purely malevolent and monstrous creatures I had previously encountered, and his arguments made a great deal of sense to me. Yet his regard for his family and their well-being is what impressed me the most. We had formed a true bond of friendship in the short time I had known him. He told me stories of his life, taught me sword techniques and begged for my help. I went to the council and pleaded for their freedom and for a re-evaluation of our plans for Japan.

"The council responded to my pleas by ordering the extermination of the females, and to prepare Hiroshi for archaic study. He possessed the strongest demonic power they had ever seen, and with it they hoped to achieve their goal of immortality. I was outraged. Never before had we murdered a human woman for associating with demons, but the council called Diane an abomination and traitor to her kind and would not yield on the death sentence. I again entreated that we still had much to learn from them both, I declared that by torturing and killing the yokai in Japan we would be jeopardizing millions of human lives and possibly the balance of the cosmos, but the council would not hear it. Hiroshi's power was too great and represented to tempting a prize, and they were now eager to obtain more.

"It was then that I saw the depth of the council's greed and hunger for power. Their corruption had led to their utter disregard for anything but their own gain and I publicly railed against them in the council chamber. That night, at the council's behest, my betrothed, Jacob, attempted to kill me in my bed. I will not bore you with many of the details of our escape. Suffice it to say I managed to knock Jacob out, retrieve the jewel, arm myself, Diane, and Hiroshi and with the baby we fled to the helicopter pad at the top of the mountain. By that time Hiroshi had the jewel, but he was weak from injuries he had sustained in the fight to the helicopter and needed my support. Tansy and her regiment of hunters had us cornered near the transport, but with the baby in her arms and in the confined space Diane was unable to use her sword. I faced my sister and her men with Hiroshi behind me fighting unconsciousness, and no hope of getting the helicopter off the ground in time.

"That's when he grabbed my hand and forced the jewel into it. 'Save my family and forgive me.' Was all he said as the jewel exploded around me and I was filled with…" I glanced down at my hands struggling to find some way to describe what I felt, "Word fail me, there was an over powering need to shed blood and rage that threatened to burn right through my body and at the same time I felt stronger than I had ever felt in my whole life, the injuries I had sustained in the fight were no more than scratches and when I looked upon my sister her and twenty men I knew with utter certainty and calm that I could kill every last one of them with a wave of my hand…" The memory sent an uncontrolled shiver of delight through my body. The memory may have faded, but the feelings, the power and the knowledge are still there.

"The change only took seconds, and when I came to myself again, Hiroshi had transformed into his true yokai self and had thrown himself at the mob. I to was different, I was no longer in my human shape, and when I leapt at the attackers it was on four clawed paws. I was an inu-yokai, but I was too angry to question the change and the bloodlust had completely taken over. Their screams were delicious has I tore through their ranks. Between Hiroshi and me, we slaughtered all but my own sister, whom I chased to the roof door. There is no doubt in my mind I would have torn her to shreds if I had been able to reach her, but in my yokai form I was far too massive to fit through the exit. Instead I tore into the frames housing and collapsed the structure onto the stairs; her retreating footsteps told me she survived.

"The end of the battle… No at the end of the massacre, for there was no resistance or mercy after I changed, was nothing but bloody carnage and Hiroshi's wolf form was lying still, Diane and Rinne were sobbing at his side and it chilled my raging blood. My body returned to normal of its own accord and I rushed to them to find my friend mortally wounded.

"I begged him to change so we could fit him in the chopper, but he said his energy had all been spent. He begged me to kill him, so that the council could be denied their prize, and then to save his family. There was much pleading and crying, I railed against him using the jewel on me instead of himself, and his wife implored me to do the honorable thing and concede to his wish to die.

"In the end I thanked him for the great gift he had given me, for his friendship and then I cut his throat before gathering his family into the helicopter and flying us to safety." I stared down at my hands as I relived the memory, expecting to see them darkened by the lifeblood of my comrade, and to hear the wails of a confused hanyou child._ It seems impossible that there isn't even a little left under my claws._ I thought as I curiously studied my curved human fingernails and ran my tongue over my teeth.

_ When did it become normal for me to look and my hands and expect claws instead of these manicured fingernails and miss the feeling of fangs in my mouth? It took me so long to figure out how to even look human again, and it feels like a lie even to me._ I was so lost in my own thoughts I had been unaware the passage of time and the world around me. Until a hand firmly grasped my own and pulled me from my memories and contemplation, Sesshomaru's pale hand on mine was a jolt and I looked up. Unconcealed confusion and embarrassment colored my face pink. _My turn to blush; I wonder were else he has those purple markings…_

"They are closing, do what you must and I will see you home." His uncharacteristic gentleness and my own preoccupied thoughts caught me off guard and without thinking I nodded my agreement. With a few short orders to Kameko, and an assurance that I felt comfortable and safe alone with him, Sesshomaru and I left the restaurant together.

------

Sesshomaru

He knew the moment she entered the restaurant. Now that he had spent several hours in close contact with her he would always be able to know when she was near, even covered in kitchen refuse he would recognize the scent that was completely her own and even concealed with jewels he knew her yokai aura like his own; they were, in fact, incredibly similar to each other.

Her auburn tresses dancing, eyes bright and alert, she breezed through the entrance exuding an air of quiet control into the pandemonium that was occurring in the restaurant. The skinny raven-haired bartender descended on her immediately with an appearance of relief. His sensitive ears picked up every word of their conversation and he smiled at how smoothly she took charge and gave her decisive instructions before entering the kitchen.

The evident verbal brawl that had been emanating from that room for the past hour had been amusing Sesshomaru greatly. Yet, as Amalie raised her voice demandingly her powerful aura of authority, and her determined, well placed intimidation and commands, all impressed him. _The rabbit has fangs and can use them well. I wonder what it would take to completely cow her._ His experience from the evening before told him it would take a great deal and he was filled with an eager desire to be the one to do it.

When she left the kitchen he watched her visibly square her shoulders and wade into the fray. It was obvious to Sesshomaru that she was a master at this game; flitting from table to table she seemed completely in control. Knowing what people desired and wanted to hear to appease them seemed like second nature to her. Yet not even in the face of the most angry and unruly patron did she lose her temper or cringe and she continued to cajole, flirt and negotiate customers into better dispositions. _She would be a devil in the boardroom._

It drew his mind back to the day he first saw her, hooded and cloaked in yokai power, her magnificent form as she intentionally cut down only those attackers that came to close, comfortable in the knowledge she could kill them all at once, at any moment. She exuded the same air of confidence and fearlessness then. Even when she intentionally caged her yokai, she never once appeared to fear the out come of her battle with Jacob, nor did the smell of anxiety ever reach his nose from her, u_nlike the other night._

The exquisite quality of her fear when she awoke in her own bed pinned beneath his body was an excruciatingly sweet memory and brought a smile to his face as he watched her almost dance through the restaurant. _That elegant hair looks even better mused up, and those bright eyes are more tantalizing in fear, or exhaustion, without that steel they carry now._ The impulse to go to her, tear out her barrette, and muss up her hair immediately was very strong. Yet he controlled it and thoughts of the changeable nature of her eyes haunted him.

_They were a dark, forest green with flecks of amber that night, but yesterday they were golden with liquid blue crumb, and today they are violet with shards of flint. Why won't they even look in my direction, she has not looked this way more than once this whole evening. Why does she ignore my presence? Is she avoiding looking to me? Does she think so little of me that I should be ignored? _It annoyed him that he has spent so much of the day considering which garments to wear to this meeting, it annoyed him still further than the damn ningen didn't even seem affected by his facade. Three grueling hours passed in is own silent musings as his anger mounted, the empty glasses of scotch accumulated and his eyes never left her industrious form. When she sat at the bar, he leaped into action.

"I just want a really large cup of coffee, Kam, with an equally large shot of Kahlua in it."

"Um, Amie-chan, aren't you still on shift?" A tired sigh escaped her lips and sent a shiver down his spine as he stepped behind her.

"Kam, my dear, you are such a party pooper. Fine, I'll just take the coffee, black."

"Good choice." The bartender commented as she sent a full cup of coffee down the bar to the waiting manager, and the first sip caused Amalie's body to visibly relax. His hands gripped reflexively into fists as he fought the urge to rub her slumped shoulders and the suppressed yearning caused him to address her angrily.

"I am not accustomed to being ignored and stood up. We had an appointment, Amalie Vercon." Her expression was inscrutable as her eyes met his and made his heart race.

"My apologies for not coming over and saying hello, Sesshomaru-_sama_, and making you feel ignored, but our appointment was vaguely for this evening, and to my knowledge the night is still not over." Even laced with scorn he liked the way she said his name. _I would make you moan that, bitch._ The unbidden thought and accompanying longing that filled him was an excruciating temptation.

"Is this guy bothering you, Amie-chan?" The silly bartender and his seething younger brother behind her drew his attention, and way to vent his pent up emotions came to him in a quick bloody image of the hanyou's broken face. _Yes, let me please be bothering you._

"No, Kameko, in fact Mr. Taisho and I have some business to discuss," She took the two occupied tables in at a glance of the restaurant and continued. "I would appreciate it if you would keep an eye on the floor, we'll be in booth eight if you need us."

"Hai," Kameko replied uncertainly and without a word to his brother, Sesshomaru and Amalie walked away.

The still fractious yokai was eager to do some sort intense act to alleviate the pressure he felt inside. The need to say something about his hours of compulsive observation of her burned in him, y_our hair, your eyes, your body, your restraint…This Sesshomaru is a master of control, and I will master myself to ignore this unseemly hunger that this ningen stirs in me._ "You conducted yourself well this evening. You are evidently a skilled administrator and businesswoman when you wish to be. It is obvious why the owner of this establishment puts up with your poor attitude and insubordination."

"With such a moving compliment, it is no wonder you resorted to stalking, coercion, assault and breaking and entering for our initial meeting." Her lips forming those words to describe his unreasonable actions the night before made him feel angry and ashamed, before he could stop himself, he blushed. _How does she manage to reduce me to feeling like a self-conscious little boy? I am older than her by at least five hundred years!_

"It seemed like the most direct tactic to obtain necessary information." He replied examining the stitching of the button of his shirt cuff unable to meet her gaze. _How very awkward_ he thought, _why was I ever looking forward to this? Why did I seek her out yesterday just to stand near her and make an ass of myself?_

"I received my yokai from a jewel a wolf yokai named Hiroshi held in his possession, he granted me this gift during our fight to save his family and himself from the DK council, three years ago. He died at my own hand soon after." Her tone was short and hinted at a profusion of undeclared emotions and her eyes reflected sorrow and unshed tears.

B_ut how did you obtain **my**__yokai power, were did this jewel come from and how was I unaware of its existence?? _"I believe you misunderstand my request, I wish to know the full story behind how you came to posses this power. You may start with how you came to know the wolf yokai and were he obtained the power." Sesshomaru demanded in an agitated voice.

"I fail to understand why it interests you so, what does it matter?" He did not reply he just waited expectantly, "Fine. Three and a half years ago the council obtained our first Japanese demon…" He listened to her tale intently, his eyes never leaving her face, though many times she was too overcome by memory or emotion to meet his own gaze. He appreciated her plan of attack on the plane and it's inhabitants and while understanding her reasoning he was faced again with her disgust and derogatory views towards his own kind, though they mirrored many of his feelings towards ningen he had to wonder, _Is her view of me different? What does she see and feel when she looks my way? Is that why she cannot meet my gaze?_ But those thoughts made him look towards the longing in his private heart and he was not ready to face the betrayal of his own standards that certainly resided there.

To distract himself he asked "Is this child the same one who accompanied you to the park?" Her sad eyes looked at him questioningly, and he wanted to know very much what they were asking of him. All he could say to her affirmative response, all he could say to those troubled and inquiring eyes was, "hmmm…" And even to him it sounded wrong.

He heard his father mentioned an realized the fang must have been from his own infant mouth, and he recalled being told the tale of that battle by his father, but did not have a recollection of the fang, or how and why his father would have removed it. It takes less than a day for his teeth to grow back; it took over two hundred years to regenerate his arm after his own brother cut it off. _Why father? Then again, why would you put a gateway to your tomb in the form of a black jewel in Inuyasha's eye? Will I never understand you motives?_ "…It could also grant Hiroshi's wife yokai power and immortality…" _Totosai, if only you had not been killed, I would have had from you what you knew of this; if this jewel granted her immortality as well as yokai power is she still a truly ningen?_

The mention of the council's actions, their disregard for the balance between the worlds, as well as their greed and power lust angered him. He had spent his whole life looking for conquest, for more power and for more influence, but even at his most obsessive he had an intense respect for the balance and an enormous sense of honor that these council members lacked.

When Amalie reached the part of her tale that mentioned her change and the bloodlust he was astonished. _There was no evidence at the bank of her ability to fully change, and if she can then there is a possibility that she is no longer a ningen at all. I too have felt that same bloodlust. She may fully possess power that is equal to my own. Kami, her power could **be** my own. What would a child of that union belike? How do I test her to be sure either way?_ Her tone changed as she told the last of her tale, and it drew his attention. She reveled in the bloodshed, and was repelled by it all at once. When she reached the death of her comrade and friend, even moving through it quickly her voice cracked with unshed tears and her very body seemed to recoil inwards. When she was finished he studied her troubled countenance for several moments. It was obvious to him that even though her anger was directed towards the council and their obsessive ways, she directed all the blame for Hiroshi's death inward, and despised what she had become because it meant his death. _She cannot accept her yokai self because she believes the cost was to high. Baka. Why can she not see that his death was his own choice and what she did was honorable?_ An unaccustomed need to comfort her drew his hand to hers causing her to blush attractively. Desire once again rose in him.

He looked around and noticed they were the only ones in the darkened restaurant. They had been sitting in that booth for hours as the employees went about the business of closing. "They are closing, do what you must and I will see you home." She nodded meekly in agreement. Standing she went to a back office and he heard her give orders about bank deposits and such to the bartender, Kameko.

Then he heard a short discussion about whether it was wise for him to escort Amalie home unaccompanied. Amalie's insistence that she felt both comfortable and safe alone with him made Sesshomaru's heart fill with an unnatural elation and wonder as they left the restaurant together. _After everything she feels safe with me_, and despite his disgust, his heart sang, and a plan formed in his mind.


	7. Ch 6:Things that Go Bump in the Night

**For Amalie's Love**

Chapter 6: Things that Go Bump in the Night

Amalie

Despite my assurances to Kameko, I was uncertain what motivated this impromptu offer to escort me home. I was still nervous as to its meaning, and when he led me to a dark BMW convertible outside of the restaurant I grew worried. _He is an Inu-yokai, is it possible he has some connection to the Inu-no-Taisho Hiroshi spoke of? His last name seems to suggest there is, but why hasn't he said anything, and what's with the show of concern all of a sudden?_

He moved to the driver side and left me standing on the curb. Talking over the car he said, "There is somewhere I would like to show you." his bald words alarmed me and my hand reached reflexively to my wrist. _Is this some sort of trap?_

"I would rather just go home." I replied as I tried to read the expression on his face in the dim streetlight I cautiously fingering the snap to my bracelet. _I can have full use of my yokai well before he makes it around the car, or over it for that matter… Even with his speed I will be able to defend myself_, the knowledge reassured me. Yet his expression remained unfathomable. He ground his teeth.

"I assure you, I intend to do you know harm. If it will make you feel more comfortable I swear to you that I will do you no deliberate injury, and that I will return you to your home safely." _Well look at you, master words smith, you chose your words very carefully, didn't you, _I thought at him sarcastically,_ …'no deliberate harm' what he is planning then, has the possibility of at least some unintentional harm. But on the other hand he probably wouldn't promise to return me to my apartment safely if he did not feel confident that I would walk away from it, whatever 'it' was; either way…_ I continued to openly study his face for several moments, no use making him feel that he had easily won my trust, or my agreement, though the plain truth was that he had.

Wordlessly I opened the passenger door and climbed into the car, but not before I saw, or thought I saw, relief cross his features and a slight nod before he to climbed in and started the car. _How deep am I in and what's my escape plan?_ I thought apprehensively as I watched the city zip by. _He sure does like to drive fast, but then with the reflexes of a yokai, I doubt that fast driving is really all that dangerous a practice. Hell it's not even the most dangerous thing that's happened to me all month, and he did promise I'd make it back safely._ Ironically it was that thought that made all of my apprehension dissipate. _What the_ _hell Why not enjoy the trip? This could be fun and it's not like there's anyone but the dog waiting at home for you…_I relaxed into expensive leather upholstery, and fiddled with my bracelet unconsciously as we bulleted to the city limits.

_Maybe I should take it off. It's not like I'm going to hurt or frighten my present company, he already knows what I am. He might take it as a threat or a sign of distrust though…GOD! I just want to be me again, _and for the first time in months 'me' meant the yokai me, the strong creature that I had spent three years being; the 'me' who had fangs and claws, and little fear. Not the human accountant that I was passing myself off as in order to hide from the DK, _I wonder if my recent control problems aren't from suppressing my yokai so much. Maybe it yearns to be loose as much as I want to let it go._ The idea of being wholly myself again caused a sigh to escape my lips. In the silent car it sounded deafeningly loud, and woefully depressing.

"Why do you continuously where those charms? Do you detest what you have become so much? Or do you just lack control?" The unexpected question in the silent car started me. _What do I say to that, should I answer or just ignore him? Would he think it rude of me to stay quite? Why did he even ask? **How** do I begin to answer?_

My thought whirled in my mind as the silence dragged pregnantly on, but before I could reply he spoke again, "You do not have to answer, it was just a question," and I with that, I found the words, or some words at any rate.

"Three, actually." I said softly into the car.

"Huh? Three what?"

"It was actually three questions. You asked me why I wear the charms all the time, if I detest what I have become, and if I just lacked control. That is more than jus a question."

"Indeed." He said and I saw a flash of teeth. _Say what? The beast smiles at the peasant's presumption?_ I continued.

"I'll start backwards, because it appeals to my contrary nature. I do lack control sometimes, but never when it matters. I do not detest what I have become as much as I detest what it has done to me. And for the bonus prize, I started wearing the charms to hide myself from the DK when I came to Japan four months ago with Rinee. In the past three years I have had enough run-ins with my former comrades that they no longer expect me to appear human, and it seemed to be an affective dodge to keep them from looking to closely at any humans with my name. It is all useless now that Jacob has reported back to them."

"Then why are you still wearing this?" He asked and before I could answer he had breached the distance between us and removed the bracelet from my wrist, to discard it into the back seat. Immediately I was over come by the rush of my yokai filling me to the brink, my fangs grew in, my ears became elongated and pointed, my hearing sharper, my fingernails lengthened into their familiar claws as I watched them folded on my lap. My fatigue melted away and I felt refreshed, strong and alive again, my sense of smell became a hundred times better than it was a moment ago.

The smell of the car hit me then: leather, warm plastic and Him. His scent was everywhere surrounding me and his aura seemed to be too large and powerful for the small vehicle to contain. The sensation was overwhelming and caused my throat to constrict as I fought my own instincts to via for dominance. _QUIT_ I yelled at myself and forced my inner nature to obey my brutal command. I hit the electric switch that rolled down the window and was delighted when the fresh night breeze assaulted my nose, and I took a breath I didn't know I'd been holding and exhaled it as a giggle. I gazed upon the landscape with my superhuman vision. We where now in the countryside surrounding Tokyo, _Free! _The joy of it made me grateful.

"Thank you, I would have done that sooner, but I did not want to insult you."

"Hmm." He rumbled in response. _Damn, even my hair feels lighter._ I thought as I suppressed a giddy joy at finally being back to my accustomed state after so much time locked away.

"So do I get to ask some questions anytime soon, or does this only go one way? To be quite frank, I am not a woman who is accustomed to prattling on about herself, or her most intimate reflections. I am extremely uncomfortable with the realization that you now know more about me than anyone living, while I still know next to nothing about you."

"And what would you ask?" He inquired, maybe it was my more sensitive ears, but his voice sounded like it had taken on a deeper, richer, more primal sound. _More of a growl to it,_ I thought curiously, s_till musical and cool, but definitely huskier some how just under the range I would have heard it before. I never would have picked that up with my human ears. Hmm if he's offering, I might as well ask the thirty million dollar question._

"Are you related to the Inu-no-Taisho?" The car began to slow, we turned right down a dirt road, and the silence continued for a few more moments while I tried to decipher if it was sadness or anger that my senses where picking up from him.

"He was my father." Sadness, regret and a little anger, my ears told me._ Oh, crap, sore spot. Now what? Could the son's tooth be yours then? Is this the mantle of your yokai I wear?_ The pieces fit to neatly for the answers to those questions to be anything more than yes on both counts._ No wonder he was so insistent to know where my power came from, no wonder he followed me. I would have done the same thing in his position, and now I know why it was so hard for him to believe that I wasn't an assassin sent from the DK. I would have been mistrustful of any admitted human flaunting my yokai like that. And who said he actually believed me? He could be taking me out into the woods to kill me now that he knows the truth. _The thought frightened me for only an instant before the unnatural trust I had for him fought for dominance of my logic,_ so far he has been a man of his word, and that is all I have to believe._

"Why did you approach me at the park yesterday?"

"Curiosity," His reply was short, but did not appear to hide anything more. I thought about asking him what he was curious about, but decided to leave it be. I felt as if I had already trespassed too far with my question about his father and the answers I had received dispersed my curiosity towards anything else. I had received plenty of answers for one night, and so I let the silence persist. Moments later he pulled the car to the side of the road near an empty field lined with trees and turned the engine off. The entire drive had taken an hour, in my true yokai form I could probably return to the city in half that time. Though I honestly did not believe anything would occur to force me to leave on foot, it was reassuring to know that it would not be a problem. "Do you not have anymore questions for me, little inquisitor?"

"No." I responded honestly.

"Not even: where are we at, or why are we here?" His voice taunted, but there was something behind it I could not read, _anger, threat, or something else entirely I just can't tell._

"I'm sure you will tell me in time, or not at all. Either way you have promised that I'll make it home safely and I trust that." My calm and honest reply seemed to strike a nerve, he leaned over to me and he radiated menace. But I refused to give into fear or my yokai instinct to attack him for issuing a challenge.

"And what would your Demon Killer comrades say to their Lead Huntsman trusting the word of a demon?" He emphasized the English word harshly, as I do when I speak of those creatures that I used to hunt, torture, and kill.

I slowly and deliberately leaned forward until I could feel his breath on my lips and I calculatingly looked into his eyes before softly saying, in my silkiest and most thoughtful tone, "I suppose what they would say to anything I do these days, torture me, capture my power into some trinket, and kill me slowly for the fun of it." We sat there, our eyes locked, our faces a breath apart for seconds that lasted days, before he turned away and exited the car. My hand barely rested on the door handle before the passenger door flew open and he extended a clawed hand towards me. _All right, I'll bite_, I thought curiously, as I took the gallantly proffered hand and was lifted from the car with ease.

With a gentle tug on my captured hand Sesshomaru guided me to the field. The air was heady with the perfumed scent of lilies we passed and the sky was filled with gloriously bright stars, a full moon presided over its court of gems, it was a truly magical night. Stopping in the center of the field he turned to face me, my hand still held prisoner by his own. Trepidation fluttered in my stomach at what a romantic scene this was, and I fought to hide the tentative spark of desire that stirred within me as I simultaneously tried not to entertain thoughts of the smooth warm hand resting in my own, or its matching friend. _Calm yourself,_ My inner voice commanded my emotions as I school myself to impassive serenity, and like a statue, I waited for the Daiyokai to reveal his scheme.

"I wish for you to change into the form you mentioned earlier this evening, the inu-yokai." It was like a blow, I'm not sure to this day what I expected him to say, but I was shocked to here him ask me that, nay not ask, order he ordered me to change. Seething with rage I pulled my hand free from him forcefully as I took several steps back, distancing myself from him and his unthinkable demand.

To change into the inu-yokai form was to give myself over completely to my yokai and the bloodlust. In that form I was as strong and as powerful as I would ever be, the form was the manifestation of my power itself, but to take that form meant I would have to relinquish my intellectual power to the primal beast that was at the very core of my being, at the center of my power. It meant I would have to surrender to the bloodlust.

The suggestion was seductive and repulsive all at once and I was conflicted knowing that this was also his form, that my aura must nearly match his own and revealing myself to him seemed far to intimate, especially since he would know the flaws, he would be able to know by looking at my form if I had become a true yokai or if something human remained. If something of who I once was remained. He could tell me if I had become the monster of my nightmares. That's when his reasoning occurred to me. T_hat is exactly why we are here. He needs to determine for himself just how much of a yokai I am, but why? Of what use is it to him to know what sort of abomination I have let myself become?_

As the thoughts, fears and self loathing churned in me my rage built. I rapped my aura around me like a shroud. "WHY?" I yelled at him, not caring if some of the pain escaped with the rage as my eyes began to glow scarlet from the ferocity of it and I turned my complete wrath filled gaze upon him, but he did not answer. A wind picked up and blew my hair around me wildly and I turned a fled into the waiting woods. I fled from his calm countenance, his insane requests, and his enticing aura. I fled from my body's reaction to him, I fled from the pain he had inflicted on my soul and most importantly, I fled from the truth that I kept hidden deep in my core, where I did not have to face it.

He caught up to me easily, tackled me to the ground, pinning me not only with his strength and his body but wrapping his aura around me as well, its icy familiarity smothering and subduing my frantic power before in surged up and pushed his aura back and away from me, but his body and his hands remained and I did not struggle against them. "Baka, ningen, have you not yet learned that you will never be able to elude This Sesshomaru? I swore I would not intentionally harm you, but do not run or I will do what I must to restrain you." His hand tightened on my wrists to emphasize his point.

"Get off of me." Every ounce of power and rage in me was behind the command as my aura pushed against his and I physically struggled to throw him off, and it worked. As my body leapt to a standing position he was hurled forcefully away from me and landed hard against a near by tree smashing its trunk to pieces. As he angrily pulled himself to his feet with a furious growl I pulled foliage from my shirt and straightened my skirt, displaying a calm I did not feel. The sleeve of his expensive silk shirt was torn revealing a muscular bicep but no blood or obvious wounds. I felt ridiculously comforted that I had only harmed his pride and his wardrobe.

I straitened myself to my full height and tried my best to look regal and commanding, "You swore not to harm me, and I promised you nothing in return. How dare you drag me out here and order me around, making demands upon me as if I where some sort of entertainer here to perform for your amusement. Stupid human you call me. Yet, you are not a very intelligent yokai yourself to try to coerce me with threats when I have my full power at my command and your own honor stating no harm would intentionally come to me by your hand. I'm not asking you to go so far as to be humble, but at least try to be considerate! You have many more years of experience on me and the advantage of being born to this power. I'm certain if it actually came to a fight I would not walk away from it, but I guarantee you this, I would do everything in my power to make sure your body held scars to remind you of my passing." I spat the words at him with all the venom and energy I could muster, trying to broadcast my underlying meaning at the most primal level, _DO NOT FUCK WITH ME._

My anger dissolving I waited for his reply and I determined at that moment that I would be damned to the lowest level of hell before I spoke another word without hearing an answer from his lips first. In the long silence the trees swayed in the wind, an owl hooted, a tree branch fell, and mice ran through the near by grass. It began to appear that the world would end before the Daiyokai would stop his wordless consideration of me and spoke, but I held firm and he eventually he said, "Very well. Would you please change your form, so that I might see it?" The politeness cost him something of his pride and the words where forced, but he said them nonetheless.

"Why?" I asked again, knowing the answer but needing him to admit the truth.

"Because, I suspect the power my father embedded in that jewel was my own, and I wish to see the fullness of the change it has wrought." Again, his pained look told me the revelation cost him more of his dignity, he was not one to explain his motivations, but he paid the price unflinchingly and I admired him more for it.

"I know that, I knew that when you told me the Inu-no-Taisho was your father, and I suspected hours ago back in the booth at the dinner." I revealed evenly, "What I want to know is why it is important to you to know how complete the transformation is."

"I wish know in order to determine my fathers impetus behind having the jewel created in the first place." It was my turn to gaze at him thoughtfully before wordlessly turning and walking back to the field. It took him a moment to start after me and I made it to the middle of the field only seconds before he cleared the trees. Without warning I changed.

An instant that took an eon, time seemed to freeze as my power enveloped me and the bloodlust took control. It forcing my face, body and limbs to lengthen, my torso soon reach a massive height towering over the near by trees as muscles contorted to fit my new frame, red fur enveloped my body and I became a giant formidable inu-yokai. _Evil Clifford_, the thought came unbidden to me as my laugh turned into a roaring, growling bark that shook the earth. Far bellow me; Sesshomaru was nothing more than a dark speck with white hair, no taller than my knee and I could smell his fear. My form terrified him and it was intoxicating. I resisted the bloodlust's call to stomp him, kill him flat and chew his bones.

Instead, I forced it down deeper and deeper into my core, pushing the power back into my center and reversing the transformation. It raged against me, and fought the change, _our enemy in weak and afraid, we could crush him easily now, _its seductive petition touched me, but I continued to fight it. I would not give into the primal urge and let it control me, and as quickly as it occurred my transformation was reversed, and I stood once more in an open field in front of the Daiyokai Sesshomaru in my red top, skirt and knee high boots, somewhere in the struggle my hair clip had been lost and my locks where tossed wildly by the wind, but I was myself once more. My yokai does not change everything about my physical attributes, human or yokai I still have hazel eyes, auburn hair, though slightly redder as a yokai, and I am still five foot two, weighing one hundred and fifteen pounds. Sesshomaru was much taller than I, he far out weighed me and yet, he was actually trembling before me and his fear was a tangible thing between us.

I couldn't take his inscrutable gaze a second longer; _surly he is not afraid of my true form! He is hundreds of year older than I and my power came from one of his baby teeth! In his true form he should be able to tear me up like a chew toy. What did he see, what is wrong with me?_ I could not bring myself to voice the question, nor could I continue standing there, letting him stare at me with that look in his eyes. This time I did not flee, I just calmly turned and walking past the car; I began the trek back to the city. Emotionally empty, alone and on foot I thought, _so I am no longer human, but instead I am a monster that monsters fear. Ah Hiroshi, I would have died in your place gladly to avoid all of this._

----

Sesshomaru

"There is somewhere I would like to show you." He did not miss her reflexive grab for her bracelet as he made the demand. _She suspects a trap._ He thought amusedly.

"I would rather just go home." She continued to cautiously fingering the snap to her bracelet. _I would have opened the door, but for my plan to work she needs the sense of security distance would provide,_ He sighed heavily, _and perhaps a piece of my honor. _"I assure you, I intend to do you know harm. If it will make you feel more comfortable I swear to you that I will do you no deliberate injury, and that I will return you to your home safely." _But if you fail this task and injure yourself that is another matter._

It relieved him when she opened the door and he nodded in acknowledgement of the bargain as he slid behind the steering wheel and started the engine. They sped out of the city towards the open country farm he owned and a field he knew would be perfect for his plans. After a moment she relaxed into her seat and the unguarded look of inquisitiveness on her face was enchanting. _She continues to worry that bracelet, why does she not remove it already? _When the heartbreaking sigh escaped her lips he could not take the silence any longer.

"Why do you continuously where those charms? Do you detest what you have become so much? Or do you just lack control?" His expectant silence became unbearable and he decided she would remain mute, _so be it, _"You do not have to answer, it was just a question." And then her flippant reply about the number of the questions he asked and her enigmatic rejoinders gave him much to chuckle over and think about. As they drove he considered her,_ what has your power done to you that you detest it so?_ But he did not ask the question. Instead he gave into his wicked urge, "Then why are you still wearing this?" He asked and moving quickly he tore the bracelet from her wrist and tossed it into the back seat. Immediately her ears became elongated and pointed, her fingernails lengthened into claws, her hair brightened and her skin shone with the intensity of the aura that filled the car like a drug and wrestled with his own for control momentarily before she forced it down. She then took a deep breath before opening a window and letting the light evening breeze into the car. She giggled and the musical tinkle of it sent a flutter of emotion through him and he resisted the urge to smile.

"Thank you, I would have done that sooner, but I did not want to insult you."

_For a moment I thought I would have to snuff her aura with my own to keep from being over powered,_ _her control is indeed impressive over such a powerful yokai. _Glancing sideways at her yokai form he was struck with how attractive she really was,_ all but her hands where hidden at the bank, I was unable to see any of this. She is magnificent; it is a true shame that she felt so compelled to hide herself. I wonder if that hair is as soft as it looks. _ "Hmm." Breathing deeply he took in her scent, _that too has changed slightly, she now even smells like a full inu-yokai, but it is not like my scent, the scent of my father nor Inuyasha's, but something similar. Now I **must** see her in the altered form she spoke of._ His hands gripped the steering wheel tighter with his resolve.

"So do I get to ask some questions anytime soon, or does this only go one way? To be quite frank, I am not a woman who is accustomed to prattling on about herself, or her most intimate reflections, and I am extremely uncomfortable with the realization that you now know more about me than anyone living, while I still know next to nothing about you."

"And what would you ask?" His voice sounded rough to his own ears, as he struggled the desires her yokai form incited in him. How does _her very presence affect me so?_

"Are you related to the Inu-no-Taisho?" Taking the right turn to the farm, he considered her question. As it always did, thoughts of his father stirred a plethora of confused emotions. _Do I really wish to discuss this with her? But then thoughts of my father may distract me from the others, and I can always refuse to answer her feeble questions. _

"He was my father."

"Why did you approach me at the park yesterday?"

"Curiosity," he replied honestly, curiosity was the best explanation he had for himself. He had seen her through the window of his office, and his feet had carried him to her involuntarily. _Just curiosity, a Daiyokai needs no more reason than that. _But instead of bombarding him with questions has he expected she lapsed into a thoughtful silence that continued until he stopped the vehicle; it annoyed him. _Am I so uninteresting to her that her curiosity is spent, or am I simply that easy for her to dismiss._ He wanted to punish her in some way for making him so flustered and confused.

"Do you not have anymore questions for me, little inquisitor?"

"No."

"Not even: where are we at or why are we here?" His voice taunted her, but with the car motionless and the distraction of it's operation taken from him he found her scent over whelming him and again desire for her body threatened to be his undoing. _Focus on the task. _He thought angrily to himself, wanting to transfer some of his frustration to her, wanting to make her pay for her inadvertent power over his wants.

"I'm sure you will tell me in time, or not at all. Either way you have promised that I'll make it home safely and I trust that." Thinking to frighten her he leaned towards Amalie, making the confined space even more of a trap.

"And what would your Demon Killer comrades say to their Lead Huntsman trusting the word of a demon?" He emphasized the foreign word as she did, with contempt and malice.Slowly, seductively, she leaned forward until he could feel the heat from her lips on his own, he smelled coffee on her breath and she met his eyes coolly, her voice was silk, "I suppose what they would say to anything I do these days, torture me, capture my power into some trinket, and kill me slowly for the fun of it." He sat frozen in the moment, powerless to make himself turn away, and fighting a losing battle against his own body's passion. Unable to stand the excruciating closeness any longer he turned from her tantalizing form and fled the car. _The sooner this is finished, the sooner I can be rid of her forever._ He thought, roughly tearing the passenger door open and extending his hand towards her.

Her hand was smooth and warm without any sign of fear or trepidation. Her entire person radiated calm and trust as he led her quietly to the field's center. _This would be a truly magnificent night for so many other things, if she where more than a ningen, and not one of my enemy's spawn._ Placing those thought from his mind he focus and demanded of her quietly. "I wish for you to change into the form you mentioned earlier this evening, the inu-yokai."

When she ripped her hand from his the loss was a tangible entity, he wanted that connection back. He had expected fear, he expected to have to coax and entreat her to change. He did not expect the rage and disgust that boiled off of her in waves as she moved away from him. "WHY?" she screamed in her furry and pain, but he had no answer, and then she fled. _Oh, Amalie, thank you, you have given me the most perfect distraction from my turmoil._ He thought delightedly as he gave chaise. Following her enticing scent and lured on by her aura it did not take long for him to reach her, and less time to restrain her bringing the full force of his will to bear. _Submit._ Was the command in every element of his being, and for a moment, out of either surprise or shock, she did.

"Baka, ningen, have you not yet learned that you will never be able to elude This Sesshomaru? I swore I would not intentionally harm you, but do not run or I will do what I must to restrain you." His hand tightened reflexively on her wrists to emphasize who was in control.

"Get off of me." The command was quiet and chilling but powerful. He was immediately hurled forcefully into a near by tree. Smashing its trunk to pieces and ripping his shirt, _how dare she! Presumptuous bitch!_ He seethed as he stood, his outrage almost making his forget his earlier promise, but then she spoke, and her words where a slap in the face reminding him of his oath and making him feel ashamed of his actions. It was not a feeling he was accustomed too, and she had provoked it in him twice in one evening. "I guarantee you this; I would do everything in my power to make sure your body held scars to remind you of my passing." _Ah my dear, if you but knew that those scars are already forming on my soul._ With a great effort he pushed aside his customary pride and his arrogance and asked. "Very well. Would you please change your form, so that I might see it?" The words choked him, but he forced the request out and waited with barely contained impatiently for her answer, and had to fight down the surge of arrogant outrage as she began to question him about his motives and his intent.

It was a struggle beyond any he had, had to endure in years to not lose his temper and answer her questions honestly and calmly. _Because of my honor, and because of my promise, but when I return you to your home, all bets are off._ He mutely threatened as her icy consideration did anything but cool his raging blood, then she turned from him and began to walk away in silence. _Impudent, bitch, you dare to dismiss me?_ He stood stalk still for several seconds watching her receding back as he fought to control his desire to tear her apart. _I have sworn and oath, but I will see your form before this night is through or you will taste my vengeance._ He thought as he gained enough command of his emotions to follow her.

He was astonished not to be met by demands for return, and his astonishment turned to awe as he was instead met by her transformation and the power of her bloodlust washed over him as she became truly massive. Her true form was a thing of beauty and the embodiment of terror. _Kami, it is even stronger in her than it is in me! How can she possibly contain it? Why is she not driven completely mad by it? How can she be stronger than I, if mine is the power from which hers is derived? A_nd then she barked a laugh that shook the earth and rocked Sesshomaru to the core, it forced primal and uncompromising panic to course through his veins as her ruby countenance turned to him and he was rooted to the ground, and only a single thought was in his mind. _She is going to kill me._

Yet, as quickly as it happened, she reversed her transformation and Sesshomaru felt the battle for control with in her, and was only slightly relieved when restraint won over instinct and she was once more a woman standing before him.

He fought with his fear and awe He grappled to regain control of his senses and say something, anything to the creature before him. _You are magnificent. You are truly amazing. Your control is astounding. You are not a ningen, but a true Daiyokai of immense power. How dare you cause this Sesshomaru to fear._ But nothing came out, the hurt and dismay in her eyes was smothering any words he could have spoken to her in that moment, and then it passed and she left him.

When her footsteps had disappeared into the night, he crumpled to the ground and hugging his knees to his chest he tried to sort his chaotic thoughts. _I should go after her. No, I cannot lower myself to chase her like a puppy. I must see her again, and how would that be accomplished now? I want her. She will never consent to speak to me again. Kami, her power! I need her. _Wrapped in his own turmoil, he let her go.


	8. Ch 7:Rum and Tea, but No One Gets a Cook

**For Amalie's Love**

Chapter 7: Rum and Tea, but No One Gets a Cookie

Amalie

Two more weeks passed before I saw him again. Summer began to fade into fall. I longed to come home to something more than an empty apartment, a dog and a TV dinner, but my melancholy was so great that the dog was lucky not to starve to death from my uncaring impulses. I went to work and pretended I was fine, I wore the stones now only in places where people knew me as human. My yokai appearance would have been far too bitter a thing to explain to friends and colleagues.

Damocles had been acting far too protective since my change, barking noisily into the night and whining at odd hours. His attitude had been grating on my nerves. He was not the source of my tumultuous feelings, but didn't need him becoming a possible target of them, so I'd sent him to stay at Kameko's house in the hills. I was also glad at the moment that Rinee was not there to see my continued wallowing in self-loathing because she would have felt responsible, and I was in no mood to explain to a child with fluffy ears and a tail about what a monster I thought I was.

When I returned that night I kicked off my high heals and stood in my living room for a moment listening to the still apartment. Then I went to the fridge and reached for the bottle of rum I kept in the icebox, it had become a tradition over the past two weeks for me to sit on my veranda and drown my inwardly focused contempt in alcohol before crawling to bed. _Not unlike when I first gained my powers. I was so filled with rage and so completely out of control I nearly killed Diane and Rinee…_ Thoughts of that painful time forced me to put the bottle back in the freezer and place the tea kettle on to boil instead. _Those who do not learn from their mistakes are fated to repeat them, and I am stronger than that._

Taking my tea onto the balcony I sat down in my customary chair and looked out onto the Tokyo skyline oblivious to its brilliance and anything else beyond my own inner turbulence. As they had so often in the past weeks, my memories turned to the night in the field, and the look of fear in his eyes. My primal joy at invoking such a reaction in a Daiyokai of Sesshomaru's caliber had long faded to bitter regret at its implications. _I am too much of a monster, even for the monsters and too much of a coward to end my own abominable life._

The thought was becoming a comfortable one, my new companion in a world I no longer belonged to and I could not get past it to answer the more important question, _What now?_ I was stuck in a loop of self-disgust and hatred and my tea had gone cold.

Sober for the first night in two weeks, I set my cold tea aside, pulled my knees to my stomach and let the shame filled tears role down my face in bitter, wretched sobs.

A hand gently brushed my hair from my face and back up to my shoulder. I jumped away in alarm, falling out of my chair and knocking my table over. My upended tea pooled around Sesshomaru's black, Italian shoes. _Wow, not only I am as perceptive as a lump of rocks, but just as graceful. Will I going to be as articulate too?_ "What are you doing here?" I was relieved that there was no note of alarm to my words as I busied myself with righting my chair and table._ Stupid! How could I be so involved in my own mess that I didn't notice his aura? Nothing should have gotten that close without my notice. What if he'd been a DK assassin?_ Wordlessly, he offered me my salvaged mug.

Our fingers brushed for a moment as I took it from him. An electricity thrill shot through me at the brief contact. "Thank you." I said it so softly I did not think he had heard it, but he replied. "You are welcome." His voice was comforting and the relief I felt when I heard it astonished me, _when did I become so attached to him that I longed to hear his voice? Why did I not notice when he arrived? When did I start to miss his company after such a brief and unhappy association?_ I looked up into his face then, curious as to his appearance on my porch. The wind tousled his hair slightly and I tightened my grip on the mug to refrain from reaching out to him._ What in the world is wrong with me? I am practically trembling!_

The memory of his fear came back to me then, and my lips drew themselves into a determined line. _Whatever the reason that has brought him here, it is certainly not polite or social, and probably shouldn't be discussed on my terrace. _ Opening the sliding door I entered my apartment and did not wait to see if he would follow.

Going to the kitchen I returned the water to boil and prepared the tea service. I heard the balcony door slide home and his steady footsteps as he walked through the apartment to the small kitchen. He stood in the doorway silently studying me as I poured water into the antique teapot. I deliberately ignored him as I gathered two cups onto my tea service and carried them to the nearby table.

The silence continued, as I poured the dark tea into mugs and pushed one towards the empty seat across from me as I sat. _Your move _and I gazed thoughtfully down into my mug waiting. As if my stillness was a cue, he entered the room fully and took the indicated seat. The tears had dried on my face and I had not bothered to wipe them away, my eyes where sore from my crying, but I refused to comment on the dejected scene he must have witness upon his arrival. I continued to wait for him to speak, after all he sought me out and no one should have to explain themselves it their own home.

----

Sesshomaru

_Every night for two weeks, the same routine two bottles of rum and then crawl drunkenly to bed, rise and repeat. How long does she plan to go on like this? Even from this distance her anger and hatred are palpable. _He had been watching her downward spiral since that fateful night in the field and he wavered between wanting to go to her and knock some sense into her and wanting to hold her until the pain was gone.

This night began no different than the others; she came home, stood in the living room for a moment and then went to retrieve her first bottle of the evening from the freezer. As he stood there, watching her contemplate the rum in her hand he determined to leave and not suffer watching the unbearable scene from so many other nights replay itself again, when she put the bottle back into the icebox and put a kettle on the stove. _Heh? Could it be she is finally coming out of it?_

Surprise and hope leapt to life with in him has he watched her walk to the balcony and sit with a mug of tea instead of her customary bottle. She sat in the chair for an hour lost in thought. Yet, instead of the normal tormented and hateful feelings her aura had emanated in the past weeks, there was a distinct air of sorrow and melancholy to her demeanor. She finally took a sip of her now icy tea and then set it aside. Curling herself tightly in the chair, her heart wrenching sobs and overwhelming grief reached him a moment later.

_Amalie_, was his only thought as he raced to her side, focused on doing something to stop her pain. Yet when he reached her lamenting form, he was bewildered as to _what_ he should do. Thoughtlessly he brushed her hair back intent on seeing her face. She recoiled violently to his touch; knocking the furniture into disarray and spilling tea everywhere.

When she entered the apartment he berated himself for his stupidity, _Baka! Of course she would not wish for you to touch her, you are the very being she despises!_ Yet she left the door open as if expecting him to follow her shuffling steps inside, and now that he was here he could not tear himself from her presence. He wondered again at the irrational attraction he had for this woman and where it came from.

At the doorway to the kitchen he hung back, unsure if she would order him to leave or allow him to remain. He notice two cups on the tray and was momentarily encouraged, but now being so near her dejection he found it was almost a physical manifestation that inhabited the whole apartment and it angered him. His rage was conflicted. He could not tell if he was angrier at her for being weak enough to succumb to such a pathetic melancholy, himself for being the cause of her sorrow, or the devils who raised her to possess such loathing of his kind that she could not even forgive her own nature.

He decided to lay the blame at the feet of the DK, since they already had so many crimes against them, and guilt was not an emotion that he was comfortable carrying for long. T_hey will pay for all of this dearly._ He swore as he sat across from her at the table and considered what to say.

"Is it truly such a terrible fate?" He studied her face for any sign of the spirited harridan that he had grown so fond of, and after two weeks outside her home, he had to admit, even to himself, that there was a fondness.

"What? You came all this way for more questions, Sesshomaru-sama? I thought by now you had learned all you needed from me." Her despondent voice nevertheless heartened him; _at least her words were still sharp._

--------

Amalie

"I am just curious. You do not look well." His answer was low, but his look was penetrating. I was flabbergasted, _after everything that has occurred he has the nerve to come here and question me and then pretend at concern? What's the deal now; does he want to set up a thumb wrestling competition or some other half cooked plan to test my limits? Why does he continue to torment me?_

"You do not have to pretend at concern for me. Just say what it is you need to and be gone. I am in no mood for games of demands, threats and promises. Nor do I have the inclination for moonlit walks among the flowers." Anger would have tainted my words if it had not all been long spent. Instead my voice sounded tired and weak. Despite my numbness I returned his intense look levelly; he would not see me flinch from him again, not after everything else.

He leaned over the table towards me moving the cups from his path with a brisk motion of his hand. "If it is only pretense, then what other knowledge, trinket, or offering do you believe you posses that would draw me here again?" Calculation filled his eyes and a slight smile curved his lips as he towered over me.

"I am sure my feeble; ningen mind cannot possibly fathom what would motivate such a great Daiyokai as you. Nor would I presume to." This time I found my temper and my words where laced with sarcasm and contempt. I knew full well the term, ningen would never apply to me again, but I could not help throwing it at him. His response was as swift as it was unexpected. I was pulled roughly out of my chair and drawn into his arms; the violence of it picked me completely off my feet as his mouth crushed mine in a passionate and ferocious kiss.

I was stunned, I was paralyzed, and my body was on fire. I could no more resist him than I could have staved off a hurricane. My mouth devoured his greedily as my tongue explored the cavern of his mouth. My hands clutched the front of his shirt tightly and I felt his own tongue linger on my fangs and a growl rose deep in his throat as he roughly turned and pinned my back against the kitchen wall. His hands trailed down my body resting on both sides of my hips as he leaned into me demandingly and I grew wet in anticipation of so much more. The power of my own need alarmed me. _What is going on?!_ I cried in my mind and the spell was broken, I shoved at him hard and the table was shattered on impact, but there was distance between us now, and my ardor-befuddled brain began to work again.

"What are you thinking?!" I yelled in alarm, I would have stepped even further away from him, but my back was literally to the wall and my breath was coming to me in ragged pants, his own composure was in similar state of disrepair, but anger burned in his eyes. _Well he obviously didn't plan that at least,_ and the knowledge that his outburst was not tactically motivated surprised and delighted me. _Of all things could he possibly be genuinely attracted to me?_

"Why did you stop?" was his furious retort and he advance towards me again. I growled fiercely and I put a warning hand up to stop him. I didn't expect such a puny defense to work, but in my panic I didn't know what else to do. He placed a hand on the wall above me and leaned forward letting his chest rest against my hand, but he let the pathetic barrier remain. The urge to ball my fist into the fabric of his shirt and pull him to me was alarmingly persuasive, but the fear of its intensity gave me strength. "Why did you start?" I snarl at him.

"You cannot deny you desire me, I can smell it all over you." He leaned forward and his breath touched my neck as he inhaled me, his free hand rested languidly on my hip to emphasize his point, and a new wave of passion rolled over me, I shivered involuntarily. My control was a thin obstacle that would not take much more of this onslaught to break; _it has been a very long time_...

His own desire was tangible his smell, his aura and his body radiated his need like a furnace. "No, but it doesn't mean I have to cave to it either, just tell me what you want so you can leave." I begged weakly feeling myself losing the battle against him and my on compulsion.

"Oh, but I've already told you what I want." He replied with a feral smile as the claws on his free hand delicately raked across the skin of my thigh. Involuntarily I shuddered and my eyes closed.

Breathlessly I managed to say, "I really should stop over estimating you. I just assumed a Daiyokai of your caliber would have better impulse control." My words hit home and hit claws dug into the thigh they had been caressing and he pushed himself away from me with a growl leaving bloody furrows in my leg. I hissed at the pain but didn't protest, my head was clearer for the hurt and I pressed my advantage. "Whatever attraction may exist here can only be a result of the enchantment which transformed me into an atrocity with a mockery of your own abilities. I for one will not be manipulated in such away; I refuse to be controlled by something so utterly repulsive."

My words appeared to have a calming effect, or at the very least his icy composure had returned. "You still refuse to acknowledge that you are no longer human. Your ability to control yourself may be lacking, but your ability to delude yourself is still very much intact. I am motivated by nothing but my own whims, and it is obvious now, that you are unworthy of my time or consideration." I admit freely, despite my own opinions on where the feelings I had for him came from, his words cut deeply.

"You sought me out, Sesshomaru, so the wasted time is your own fault. As for the loss of your consideration, since your opinion means nothing to me, I will not regret the absents of it in the slightest. I do regret my recent, temporary lack of judgment, however and I wish to correct it by inviting you to leave immediately."

"Rest assured that I will leave, and I will not seek you out again, but know this: if ever we meet again you will admit what you are, or die with the lie on your lips. You are Yokai and to deny your own nature is folly." I wanted to scream at him, I wanted to contradict the truth in his words, I wanted to kill him, and I wanted to beg him to never leave me. Instead I just stood there, and silently watched him depart before collapsing to the floor and bitterly expressing my disgust for the life I was trapped in, with heaving sobs.

Sesshomaru

"Whatever attraction may exist here can only be a result of the enchantment which transformed me into an atrocity with a mockery of your own abilities. I for one will not be manipulated in such away; I refuse to be controlled by something so utterly repulsive." _Repulsive. _The word rang in his mind and dampened his ardor and fury with frustration and regret. He forced an emotionless mask to slide down his face as he regained his composure. _How many centuries will it take before she accepts herself?_

He words had wounded him and he felt a need to do the same, "You still refuse to acknowledge that you are no longer human. Your ability to control yourself may be lacking, but your ability to delude yourself is still very much intact. I am motivated by nothing but my own whims, and it is obvious now, that you are unworthy of my time or consideration."

There conversation concluded quickly at that, as she ordered him from her home, and he left, no longer able to face her rage and dilution. Anger, a habitual refuge from bewildering emotions and confusing events one whishes to avoid, comfortable and known he tried to hold onto the sanctuary it offered for as long as he could, yet he found it impossible. Unlike the passion that had flared in his breast and would not abandon him, his rage had fled and left him alone with his chaotic thoughts and unsolicited sentiments. _Why? Why am I drawn to her? Why do I want her? Why can I not control this? Why did she deny me? Why does she refuse to acknowledge her power? _The questions in his mind built without end. _If Myoga o_r _Totosai where alive I would make them give me answers._ He savagely struck out at the corner of a nearby building taking a chunk of brick out of the wall and shaking the building to its foundation before continuing his directionless walk.

He was not one to deny himself something he wanted, but in his mind he admitted that she had been right, this attraction he felt for her was beyond his nature. It pulled and pushed and drew him to her at every turn, but no matter what power and form she might posses now, she had been born a ningen, and that should have been enough to repel him. The fact that he worked so hard to rationalize it away should have been enough to prove that there was some form of manipulation here. _She and I are in agreement on this point, this Sesshomaru does not like to be manipulated either. But if she is not the one doing the exploitation, where does it come from and how do I end its torment?_

He thought again of her Yokai form in the field with the moonlight making her fur glow. It was an image he had recalled often in the past weeks. Magnificent, beautiful and terrifying, t_he bloodlust was so strong in her, and her control on it so fragile. Faced with it I could not control my own fear, if she had killed me it would have only been fitting, I have never been so close to fleeing anything in my life._ Shame, guilt, fear and desire these are weak ningen emotions that, until recently, he had effortlessly avoided. Only a very powerful enchantment indeed could make it so easy for them to rise with in him at every encounter with her.

_I will focus on destroying the Demon Killers, put her from my mind, and I will not seek her out again. There is nothing more I need from her, and that way lies only folly._ Yet, in his heart, where he tried to ignore it, there was an empty ache, and it echoed her name.


	9. Ch 8:Controlled Euphoria

**For Amalie's Love**

Chapter 8: Controlled Euphoria

Amalie

I ran as fast as my muscles would allow, and felt my yokai burn in my blood as it added to my speed. I'd been in the country for a good hour, passing little farming communities, when I reached the mountains and breathed in the crisp night air and I finally started to sweat and slow my pace. _I'm really fast. _I thought as I shifted back. Standing on the mountain looking down I could barely see the lights of Tokyo from my vantage.

He said I lacked control and it galvanized me. In the days following his departure I had resolved to ruthlessly train my yokai to obey me. The hardest part was when I shifted into my full yokai form; the great beast almost overwhelmed any sense of who and what I was with its desire for blood and mayhem. The people in the isolated houses where a great temptation, a chance to spill blood, to taste it and their terror as they both ran out of feeble bodies. A thrill went through me and I shivered as I contemplated it, and revulsion soon followed as the horror of that feeling and those thought registered.

I sat on the ground, drew my knees to my chest and hugged them close. The bloodlust was difficult to control, but possible and I had made leaps and bounds since I started transforming regularly. I had Sesshomaru to thank for that, before that night I had only change my form a total of three times. The first when I received the power from Hiroshi, once in a drunken rage and once in defense of Diane and Rinee when the council had found us the first time. Each event convinced me the power was evil, seductive and uncontrollable.

_Yokai, to deny your own nature is folly._ His words haunted me; _he called me a yokai, which means that whatever else he witnessed when I change he saw the form of a true inu-yokai that night, not just the illusion of one. _The realization disgusted me, terrified me and filled me with sorrow. I wanted so much to deny it, but again he was right, it was a lie and I had lied to myself for too long as it was. I was a fighter, a hunter; trained to kill what I had become, I had run rather that fight for three years. In that time I had denied what I was, the power and advantage I had gained, while still using them as a means of defense.

In the few short days that I had adopted my new routine I found that my yokai no longer fought me and I did not need struggle to control my inner self. I trained my martial skills in the morning, went to work, and honed my yokai skills at night. Sitting on that mountain I was content and comfortable in my skin for the first time in three years. _Yokai, to deny your own nature is folly. For three years I feared what I was becoming, thinking that if I did not give in and use the power to much or change my form I would not become what I had been raised to hate. But Hiroshi was a yokai and he was not evil. Rinee is a hanyou, she is not evil, this entire time I also have been a full-blown yokai and I am not evil **and I am not a beast**._ I thought vehemently, _I am good and strong, and as long as I control the bloodlust and do not give into it, I am not a monster, and I am stronger than the entire Demon Killers clan combined_ I sighed heavily, _I am a yokai. I am a demon. I am a yokai. _It made me wanted to scream, cry, rage and laugh out loud for the absurdity of it all. I was, the best of the best. I had more demon blood on my hands than any other Demon Killer, save the council, themselves and I was content with being their enemy.

I wanted to go to Spain, march to their walls and tear them down with nothing but my bare hands and claws. I wanted to fill their courtyard with acid and melt my way through their fortifications to the council chamber. I would finally make them pay for their greed, shortsightedness, Hiroshi's death and for the disgust for what I had become that I had held in my heart all these painful years. They had crippled me and harmed so much more. They had damaged the balance by removing good demons that defended it and I wanted them to pay.

Yet, I knew a single demon, yokai, or Daiyokai had no chance of winning a full-blown assault on the DK Stronghold. Even I would never have made it to the council seat alone, and I knew those halls like the back of my hand. _I could do it with Sesshomaru's help._ I sighed again and acknowledged the other reason I ran, and why I trained so hard. He dominated my thoughts. At night I lay in bed thinking of him. His voice, his kiss, his hands and his body; I ached for him, I missed him and I my pride would not allow me to go to him.

_I'm not wrong; there is some enchantment behind this, my head knows that this is not right my heart just doesn't care. The jewel came from his own father and was made when he was just a baby from his own fang. Surly not even a yokai father could hold some evil desire in his heart for his infant child. Hiroshi told me the Inu-no-Taisho was a legend when he was young, nearly four hundred years ago, so this cannot be a threat leveled at me. Could a defender of the balance really plot evil against his infant son?_ I puzzled over it and nothing made sense even to my own suspicious mind, _the council had no reason to alter it, I was still very loyal to them when it came to my hands. I honestly believe they had no idea of its true power, so where does this attraction come from?_

My thoughts circled themselves in the chill night; I kept coming back to the idea that the attraction was some how genuine and dismissing it. _Does it matter? Now that I am a yokai, now that I acknowledge it, and have accepted that other form as myself, could I take a yokai lover? Hell, how could I bring myself to take a human lover again, knowing the life span of a yokai is measured in centuries?_ My thought where beginning to make me angry. I still could not justify having sex with a yokai to the teachings that had been drilled into me since birth. I decided to dismiss my thoughts for a time and return to the city.

I allowed my yokai to fill me, the bloodlust rose to the surface as my yokai forced my face, body and limbs to lengthen and become broader. The change occurred so fast the power pushed me away from the earth's surface in a glowing sphere of energy. Quickly my torso became enormous, my muscles contorted to fit my new frame, and my fur enveloped my body. In seconds the change was complete and my new form came back to the earth. The impact probably would have rocked the neighboring countryside if I hadn't already been running.

I felt strong and powerful, the sheer joy of motion was almost enough for me to forget the loss of my identity. I stopped on an outcrop before I left the mountain and let loose a great blissful howl. I smelled the fear in the valley bellow, and it made me show my teeth in a doggy grin. U_ntil we take on the DK, that's as close as you will get to what you want._ I thought to my inner self as I began to run again, racing the moonlight home.

Sesshomaru

Four days since he saw her last. Four days of thoughts of her, and three nights of having the same dream. _He is kissing her, running his hands along the tempting length of her torso and then she slips from his arms and laughing retreats into the woods. He follows her, and though her scent is everywhere he can't hear or see her. His need for her is always so intense, and then she screams and it is a sound to chill his blood and make his heart race. He runs to find her desperate to know where she is and if she is all right. Then he is standing before the old tree Bokusen'on, and he wakes without finding her._

The first time he had the dream he knew that even if it was the product of his own fevered mind that Bokusen'on, if he still lived, was the only one remaining that may have known his father's reasons behind the jewel encased fang. _Hosenki probably crafted it but he, like so many others, is long dead from the battle with Naraku._ Eager to find the tree yokai, Sesshomaru left that first morning.

The countryside had changed greatly in the five hundred years since he last saw him, but Sesshomaru knew that the forest Bokusen'on resided in still stood on the most northern tip of the country. It took him a day to find it; the tree yokai had become enormous in the intermediate centuries, and lazy. It took Sesshomaru two days of constant banging on the hard tree trunk before Bokusen'on finally awoke.

"Sesshomaru-sama, I was not expecting to see you again. Did I not tell you of your brother's sword, or did I dream it?" The trees deep voice reverberated sleepily through the valley.

"No, Bokusen'on, I am here for something else. A fang my father encased in a jewel. Do you know of it?"

"Know of it? But of course Hosenki used sap from my very roots to create it, a most disagreeable process, but the jewel was very pretty when it was finished."

"Do you know why my father would have such a thing forged?"

"Of course, though I loved your father deeply I would not have sacrificed a root without knowing the Inu-no-Taisho's purpose."

"My patience with you grows thin, old tree, what was that purpose."

"To give it to a woman of course."

Sesshomaru let out a low warning growl, "I do not have time for games, what woman and for what reason?"

The tree sighed heavily and his leaves rustled with its exasperation, "Ah, forgive me I have been asleep a long time. I will tell you the tale if you would here it." Sesshomaru waited without responding until the tree spoke again, "Very well. You know that your father and your mother where a political match. He wanted access to the eastern lands and the lord there would only grant it to him if he sired an heir to bind the two lands and ensure no attack would come from the west. In accordance with the treaty, you where to remain with your mother to ensure the amity would be maintained.

"The Daughter of the East was not an affectionate mother and your father feared you would know nothing of love if you remained there. Your father regretted his son's loveless fate and so he went to a powerful Miko, who was said to know the future and he asked what he could do to ensure that you would find love. She told him to have the jewel forged, and to give it to Hiroshi at the end of his next great battle. The Jewel would find its way to your true mate and after many centuries and many hardships your father's wish to give you the ultimate power and joy love provides would be granted, long after he died."

"Love, heh, how absurd." With that Sesshomaru turned to leave, but Bokusen'on was not done, "Sesshomaru-sama, listen well, if you have found your true mate, guard her with your life. The Miko also said that you and the one who holds the power of the jewel would face a trial that may cost your mate her life, if you are not vigilant. Love is stronger than any mountain or power and more fragile than glass. Guard it well or it will be lost forever."

He did not reply, but continued to walk. He was angry again at his father, for the first time in years he was faced with yet another task to prove himself to the old man's memory, it was a cruel joke. _Like Tetsusaiga, Tessaiga and that damned Meidou-Seki, which almost cost Rin her life. Tests, tests, and more tests, will I never be rid of his meddling?_ He was angry with the Miko he did not know and who was by now long dead and beyond even Tessaiga's reach. Most of all he was furious with himself, for not seeing his fathers plot before now.

---

Amalie

On the phone that morning I told Diane everything about the fight, the kiss, the desire, the shifts, and she was the first person to hear me admit I was a yokai.

"So what are you going to do, hon?" Her musical voice was calm and accepting.

"I'm going to exterminate any Demon Killers that come my way and hope they learn there lesson eventually." I responded viciously.

"No, about the guy you are obviously I love with."

"I'm not in love."

"Fine, deep meaningful lust then, but what are you going to do?"

"I don't know Diane."

"Fuck him."

"Excuse me?"

"Fuck him, and see if you feel the same in the morning."

"Um, how about no."

"Fine, talk to him."

"What the hell would I say?"

"You'll know when you see him."

"I don't think so."

"Just go see him, you can't leave it like this, just go."

"Sure."

"Go, now."

"Sure, bye Diane."

"Bye."

Days later, I stood outside of the towering office building for over an hour thinking about what to say, how to say it or even if I would go in at all. _Why am I even here?_ He had come to me at ever encounter, this was the first time I sought him out, and I was certain that it was the most foolish thing I'd done in the entirety of my life.

I could feel him there; his presents permeated the very pavement and I wondered if he could feel me too, m_aybe from that dark window there, to the left of the door, or that one on the top floor. _I shivered as I contemplated him watching me, unseen. I long to be next to him at that window looking down into the street, but I turned instead and let my cowardly feet drag me towards the sidewalk away from his aura.

"Hey you watch out!" A man to my right yelled and I only had a second to jump back as a bundle of rebar fell from the nearby construction site. It missed me by inches, but I'd lost my balance and over corrected, I was falling towards the jagged edge of a metal pipe instead, with no hope of avoiding it in time. And then I was caught, held in his arms, enveloped in his aura, safe and breathless.

"Sesshomaru." It was all I could say, gazing up into his eyes.

"Amalie." His voice was cold and distant, but his eyes of melted gold, where sparkling.

I struggled to right myself, but he wouldn't break the embrace. "I… I came to see you." I mumbled dumbly.

"It appears you are leaving instead."

"I, no, yes. I don't know, would you please let me go?" I blushed as I pulled away and this time he released me. "There where things left unsaid the other day, and I have to say them."

"So, you finally sought me out, but are you here to speak truths or lies?"

"Oh God! Never mind, this was a mistake; you always manage to say just the right thing to make me angry! I can't even remember what possessed me to actually seek out your company." I ranted as I stormed away from him.

"Stop" he ordered and I just kept walking. He moved quickly to my side and reached for my arm but I avoided it and quickened my pace. He made no move to follow and I was almost to the street when I hear him say, "Please, stop." I halted in my tracks _he just said please._

"Did you just say please?" The shock I felt was apparent in my words and a smirk crossed his face as he slowly moved towards me.

"I did, and you stopped. Now, perhaps we can walk together, and talk." He reached my side and took my hand into his and tugged me towards the street.

"What exactly do we have to talk about?" I challenged pulling my hand from his I stuffed into the pocket of my jeans and continued down the street as he kept pace beside me.

"Why did you seek me out?"

"I hardly think it's relevant anymore."

His hand came out and rested on my shoulder, "Please?" I stopped and looked into his face for several moments before brushing off his hand and continuing my walk."Twice in one day, I am truly honored. That's probably the most you've used that word in your life." I sighed and blurted out, "I came to tell you that you where right."

"About?" His voice seemed almost amused, but maybe it was my imagination that made it seem like he was laughing at me.

"Always the questions with you." I said crossly.

"It does seem to be the way it is between us." I laughed at that, _as if there could be anything at all between us_ and a flutter of something rose up in my heart in answer.

"Look, if you think this is painless for me you would be sorely mistaken, so if you could just take it easy I'd be most appreciative." My tone was harsh but I was going to lose my nerve at any moment, and I couldn't stop feeling happy that I was just with him again.

"Indeed."

"Ok, here it is, you where right about me not being human anymore. I am a…" I almost choked on it, "Yokai. There I've said my piece and now this is done. Thank you for listening and good bye."

"You came here for that."

I chuckled bitterly, "Honestly I'm not sure why I came, I just could move passed all of this without telling you; I needed to settle things."

"Things are not settled, Amalie." My name from his lips made my heart do a summersault and I stopped walking.

"And pray tell, what's left?" I asked scornfully, expecting more questions. _Maybe he wants me to draw him a map of DK headquarters._

"I have a story to tell you, about my father, myself and that jewel. It is your turn to listen as I talk." The story about his conception and the jewel was short, his words bitter and the contempt for his father and the Inu-no-Taisho's plans was plain.

"Your father must have cared for you a great deal." I said.

"Hardly, I do not yet know what sort of test this is, for me to find my true mate, but it is still just another one of his tests."

"True mate? What is that even supposed to mean? As for love, that's absolutely ridiculous the jewel may have carried and enchantment, but…" I trailed off and shook my head, grasping that on some level I wanted it to be true. I wanted him to be in love with me, because false or not, Diane was right, I'd fallen for him. The realization struck me like a blow and I stumbled to a nearby building before sitting hard on the steps. "Can my life become anymore absurd?"

"Absurd was not the word I expected you to use." Sesshomaru replied sitting on the step next to me. Sitting there, shoulder to shoulder felt so natural that I didn't feel like questioning it.

"And what word did you expect?" I looked at him curiously.

"Vile perhaps, nightmarish, contemptible, possibly loathsome."

I smiled sadly, "No, I've moved past all that. It all seems cruel now, but not foul, and I just can't be revolted or afraid of it anymore. I wasted too much of my life on all that already and it's gained me nothing but regrets."

"Such as?" He looked at me with open curiosity on his face and something more in his eyes.

"My list of regrets form the past three years are innumerable, but they all left me sadder, colder and more alone. I think I'm finally moving past that now, and I believe I have you to thank for it." I squeezed his hand and smiled sadly at him as I stood and released him. "But that's enough of that, I've said more than my piece. I won't ask for your forgiveness, but I do thank you, for everything." He reached out and clasped my hand in his, searching my face with his eyes.

"And what of the jewel and the story?" I looked down at him, sitting on the step holding my hand. On impulse I leaned down and kissed the crescent on his forehead.

"I don't know, probably more regrets." I said withdrawing my hand from his, and crossed the street to the bank of cabs parked near the office complex, leaving him there in stunned contemplation as I went back to my life, such as it was.

Sesshomaru

_Probably more regrets_,_ and then she kissed me. _He relived that brief moment when her lips brushed his forehead, the shock that ignited something deep inside and caused his heart to flip in his chest. Her appearance had filled him with unaccountable gladness and the sorrow around her eyes made him long to draw her to him. _This Sesshomaru regrets nothing._ He thought, watching her get into a cab.


	10. Ch 9:And the Prize Goes to the Dog

**_Author's Note: I think we only have three more chapters left, and I'm sorry for delays but between work and school I don't get a whole lot of time to write these days. Thanks for being patient. And thanks to all of you who sent me encouragement and Ideas. Icecat: You get to see her play with the dog and next chapter you'll get that citrus. _**

**_Again, this is my first Fanfic of any sort so please, tell me what you think, any suggestions you might have on how to make it better are always welcome. _–KK**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, Sesshou, or any other inu char's, I barely own a beat to hell Dodge. Takahashi Rumiko: if you want it, the van is yours. (Please pay for delivery.)**

For Amalie's Love 

Chapter 9: And the Prize Goes to the Dog

I had returned to the field that had changed my life. The scent of lilies was completely gone as winter crept into the countryside and I stood in my shirtsleeves, oblivious to the cold. "Damocles! Fetch!" I called and gently threw the ball again and watched my pet speed his way after it, barking with joy, to return a dripping ball at my feet and wait for it to be hurled again. I obliged and for the next hour we played before he fell down panting at my feet. "Happy puppy?" I asked giggling as I flopped down next to him. Damocles tiredly nuzzled his head onto my lap and whined. "An hour worth of play isn't enough? Now I have to pet you too?" I inquired in mock indignation as I began scratching his ears. "You are spoiled!" He snuffled in contented agreement as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the attention.

I looked up at the field and tried not to think about that night, the fear, the joy, the anger and the sorrow it all brought me now. Instead I though of Rinee and the new school photo she'd just emailed and her eager prattling about friends, teachers and the drama of childhood. I thought of Diane and how she still has not dated, and the delight she is finally experiencing with her daughter, and I wished I could returning to Detroit.

My whole purpose in Japan was to defend the remaining Yokai from the DK's attacks. At first I was busy identifying their assaults and then I was intercepting them and fighting them off at least once a week that whole first year. I had made a name for my self among the lesser yokai, the kappas, imps and the like. Even a few Diayokia owed me their lives, though they were loath to admit it. Between everyone I had rescued I had forged an alliance of sorts and they related any strange incidents or drastic change in plans and daily routine that could spell an ambush to me.

Yet, in recent months, the DK's assault on the yokai of Japan had stalled and I knew their methods to well to think that I had won. _They are planning something big, and I am sure they have not yet given up on Sesshomaru. His power is far to great a prize._ I thought about him. The man who, only to myself, I could admit I loved. By whatever the means, that was how I felt. The idea of him coming to harm, the thought of his power being torn from him as I had seen it torn from so many other demons made me growl in angry frustration. "Woof!" Damocles said jumping to his feet and scanning the area for the danger that made his mistress snarl.

"No, little brother, the threat is not one that can be seen." I said quietly and rested my hand on his head. He gazed at me with concerned, brown eyes and I ruffled his fur again before standing. "Let's run!" I said and began jogging towards the forest. A happy bark echoed behind me and my sensitive ears heard him rush to my side as we ran through the trees together. He tired long before I did and we slowed to a walk as he panted from the exertion and we entered a clearing.

We had stumbled out of the woods onto someone's expansive lawn, leading to an enormous house set back against the trees. It made quite a pretty picture, and I stood there for several moments admiring the peace, Damocles flopped gratefully to the grass, happy for the respite. "Lazy." I mumbled to him as the sound of a car racing down the drive to my left reached my ears. The driver was obviously moving at a dangerously fast speed for such a narrow path I could literally hear the gravel fly from the tires, but it still took several minutes for the car itself to become visible, and a shock of recognition went through me as his aura reached me at the same moment.

The car came to a sudden stop, as the driver slammed on the breaks and fought for control in the gravel. I nudged Damocles with my foot and hurried back the way I had come hoping that I could avoid seeing him, even though we both knew he was as aware of my presence as I was of his. A car door slammed behind me, and then he was standing in the path of my retreat and I was fumbling for a way to explain my presence.

"Is that you car back on the main road?" He asked calmly.

"Yes." To many conflicting thoughts and emotions over whelmed me at the sound of his voice. I wanted to run to him, I wanted to flee from him; joy and pain. I gave him a shy smile instead. "I wanted to take Damocles some place new, to run."

"Ah." He replied glancing down at the treacherous hound. He was wagging his tail so hard his body shook with the force and his mouth hung open in a comical doggy grin.

"What are you doing out here?"_ Polite small talk, I can do this, just stick to polite small talk._

"This is my property."

"Oh, I didn't realize we where trespassing. I'm terribly sorry. We'll leave right away." I tried to pass him, but his hand shot out and gripped my arm, stopping me.

"I am not sorry you are trespassing." His voice betrayed nothing.

"I didn't mean to disturb you."

"You do not disturb me." His eyes where intense, the tone of his voice inscrutable, but his words made the longing in me leap forward and a blush rose in my cheeks. It had been months since I said goodbye to him. I'd expected the feelings I had had for him to fade, but they swelled in me anew, fresher and possibly stronger than the day I had tried to bury them. Looking at his calm, passionless face was too much. I gazed at the bare trees of the woods frantically trying to find a way to end this tete-a-tete. I was anxious to free myself from him and the emotions that threatened to smother me.

"All the same, we shouldn't be here." I responded nervously.

"Why?" The question bewildered me and I glanced to him again.

"Excuse me?" A slight twitch of his lip, a hint of a smile and then it was gone.

"You will join me for dinner." A command, not a request and it riled me.

"I think not." I said haughtily pulling my arm from his grip and glaring daggers at him.

"Hmm, you will join me for dinner or I will inform the authorities you where skulking about my home uninvited," and with that he strode back towards his car, when he reached the passenger side he opened the door and leveled a patient stare at me. Damocles bounded towards the invitation, jumping into the expensive sedan without encouragement and leaping into the back seat. I hesitated to call my dog back to me. I had no fear of the police, but I realized that this was the closest I would get to an invitation from him, and I could not bring myself to refuse.

Sesshomaru

He refocused his attention back onto the contracts in his hands for the hundredth time that day and cursed himself silently. _She continues to haunt my thoughts, even after all these months, my father's machinations coming to fruition and yet still not entire in their results. _He threw the contracts onto the desk in frustration and disgust."I did not agree to this third clause, private ownership of the auxiliary holdings will not be allowed, I will not buy this company piecemeal. This contract is unacceptable to me."

"Hai, Taisho-sama, I will inform Tanaka-san right away." The lackey quickly gathered up the discarded contracts and shuffled to the door. Sesshomaru massaged his temples trying to stave off the growing headache. When his intercom buzzed. "Taisho-sama, Mr. Sakamoto is here to see you."

"Send him in."

The weasel yokai skulked into the room. As distasteful as dealing with the slimly little creature was to him, Sesshomaru recognized that the beast's usefulness. "I am honored that you would see me so quickly, Sesshomaru-dono, I have what you asked for."

Sesshomaru did not respond, but continued to wait patiently for the weasel to proceed, his face a mask of bored indifference. The minion hurriedly removed a thick manila folder from his brief case and hesitantly placed it in his master's desk.

"You may go." Sesshomaru dismissed the startled weasel quickly, unwilling to gaze upon the creature longer than he had to. Sakamoto, looked like he was about to protest, but a glance from his master silenced him and sent him fleeing to the safety of the outer office.

After the yokai's footsteps receded from his hearing Sesshomaru eagerly opened the folder. The first one hundred pages where pictorial dossiers on the top members of the DK and peripherals that he had ask for specifically:

Tansy Vercon/ Ingram, age: 27

Born: New Fork, Wyoming November 21, 1979, 12:02am.

Twin sister: Amalie Vercon, daughter to Counsel member's Byron Hadrian and Saundra Vercon

Current residence: Demon Killer Compound, La Peza, Spain.

Rank: Huntsman third class.

Husband: Jacob Ingram

He flipped to the next page

Jacob Ingram age: 29

Born: La Peza, Spain August 3, 1977, 8:45am.

No siblings, Son to Council Leader Edward Ingram, mother Julie Fengrelie, deceased.

Current residence: Demon Killer Compound, La Peza, Spain.

Rank: Huntsman fist class

Husband: Tansy Vercon/ Ingram

Amalie Vercon age 27

Born New Fork, Wyoming November 21, 1979, 12:00 am.

Twin sister: Tansy Vercon/ Ingram, daughter to Counsel member's Byron Hadrian and Saundra Vercon

Current residence: Unknown, presumed deceased October 11, 2003.

Rank: Lead Huntsman with Honors, counsel member candidate.

Within hours he had paged through the dossiers before him and was considering the information that had been gathered on the La Peza compound. It appeared to be completely self-sufficient. There was little information available on the compound, an estimated number of current residents of near four hundred hunters and an unknown number of children and staff. Also, fortification specifications on the outer walls, and guard rotation schedules, but nothing about the interior of the compound or other possible defenses; a note attached reported three yokai perished gathering the information in the file. He flipped back to the third page in the file and looked down at the picture.

She was standing outside of an airport wearing sunglasses, a dark, slim fitting pantsuit, looking deadly serious and very human. His mind went unbidden to the image of her in the basement room, blood and bodies all around. Standing over her sister and her lover, power radiating from her in sharp waves, majestic and captivating she had been a vision of authority, and death. She had been yokai. A million other moments crowded his mind, her in her bed fragile and afraid, dragging an arrogant customer from that hole of a bar, in the car her hair and eyes glowing with the release of her yokai, in the park with her niece, in her apartment broken and sad and on the steps to his building. Each memory a spark of joy, a dagger of pain to his heart and a sword to his pride, _damn you for sending this weakness to me, father._

He looked over the brief description again, D_aughter to Counsel member's Byron Hadrian and Saundra Vercon, presumed deceased, Lead Huntsman with Honors, counsel member candidate. She did not lie when she said she was well regarded amongst them. T_he next idea came logically but unbidden to his contemplations,_ she would know what the inside of the compound would look like._ To be around her was to give into the weakness in his heart, but he could not deny that she was the most reliable source of information on his quarry. To anyone but himself he could explain his need to see her again with that logical assessment. Only his heart whispered to him that he lied_. 'A trial that may cost your mate her life, if you are not vigilant'_, Bokusen'on's words whispered in his mind and he turned his thoughts away from contacting her. The further she was from him the safer she was, and he needed aid from no one.

He looked at the clock on his desk, 4:32pm; he decided to call it an early day. Gathering the papers from his desk and placing them back into the folder, gathered up his briefcase, making his way to his car, and out of the city and home.

He recognized her aura long before he could see her and it caused him to react violently, slamming the breaks of his car to the floor and almost causing it to spin out, yet he never lost control. Seeing her again was a shock to his senses. He'd forgotten in the past months how overwhelming she could be

Her scent on the wind was an embrace, her distress was plain to anyone with his senses, or her own. Her wary smile almost undid him. He had been willing to allow her to leave until the coy look lit her face up and caused his heart to pause as her flushed cheeks violently reminded him of the moment of irrational passion in her apartment. _She spoke of regrets; the only things one should regret are the things left undone._ The thought made him smirk a little.

"You will join me for dinner." He heard his own voice as if from a distance, the command more of an unbidden thought said out loud.

"I think not." He fought himself not to smile again. _Refusal and threats my dear it is the coin we always trade in, you and I._

"Hmm, you will join me for dinner or I will inform the authorities you where skulking about my home uninvited," decisively he sauntered to the car and held the door for her, knowing he had won and reveling in the moment as she made her way slowly to the door.


	11. Chapter 10: Garden of Delights

Author's Note: CITRUS: Everyone I've never written anything like this before so I may have to edit…Thanks to:White Alchemist Taya, sohnaka, inu-yokai, icecat and Jonny Vodka for all the reviews.

_**Icecat: Geez never wrote anything like this before girl, I sure hope my protestant up bringing didn't ruin it…;)**_

_**White Alchemist Taya: I will go back and fix spellings in CH 5, and I'm sorry for it's length I may edit it and ch 7 since I sense sarcasim… :) **_

**_Again, this is my first Fanfic of any sort so please, tell me what you think, any suggestions you might have on how to make it better are always welcome. _–KK**

**Disclaimer: I don't own, Sesshou, or any other inu char's, I barely own a beat to hell Dodge. Takahashi Rumiko: if you want it, the van is yours. (Please pay for delivery.)**

For Amalie's Love 

Chapter 10: Garden of Delights

------

Amalie

We spent a pleasant hour in the conservatory before dinner, and I found myself relaxing in his presence, talking freely and enjoying his company until his servant announced the meal and I followed Sesshomaru to the dinning hall.

Dinner turned out to be rice; tender bits of steak cooked only long enough to make them warm, with vegetables, all sauteed in a sweet teriyaki sauce. "Forgive the fair, I was not expecting guests." He didn't sound apologetic, but then I was becoming accustomed to the matter-of-fact tone he used for most conversation and didn't expect anything else.

"I don't mind, it's a vast improvement on my original dinner plans."

"You did not mention plans."

"Oh, it's not like I had reservations, unless I left them at home with my TV dinner and the TiVo." My brash remark was rewarded with an imperceptible upturning of his mouth. _Score._ I thought unaccountably please with myself, _Stop that, you can't afford to have feelings for him. _I scolded myself but I couldn't eradicate the thrill just being in his presence gave me. I longed for the warmth I had felt with him earlier, and so much more and I fought to distance myself from those longings and him. The sober setting of the dining room leant itself to me, assisting me into a more formal comportment.

"No masses to slaughter or yokai to liberate or inconvenience tonight?" he mocked.

"No." I said shortly, coaching myself back into stoicism, using it as a shield to hold back the temptation of him. A slight frown creased his brow momentarily before he turned his attention back to his untouched meal. We ate in silence, but it was obvious neither one of us where interested in consuming the repast. I fumbled with my chopsticks trying to get a mouthful of rice and finally gave up, finishing the meat and vegetables clumsily. Placing the troublesome instruments on the rim of the bowl I pushed it away slightly and sat back in my chair. Sesshomaru was watching me from across the table intently as he deftly finished his food. I blushed feeling a need to justify my clumsiness. "I'm far to accustomed to just shoveling things into my mouth. I think chopsticks require far more grace and patience to operate than I will ever have."

He set his utensils thoughtfully on the table and sat back in is chair. "I believe you have a great deal of grace, however, or acquaintance is far to short to pass judgment on your measure of patience."

I chuckled ruefully, "My mother always told me patience was one of the many virtues I would never acquire in this or any other lifetime."

"You must have had some measure of patience to torture prisoners and deftly plan assaults on your victims." I winced at his words; though true, to hear my former life summed up in those words, from him, wounded me. Yet, the pain was more comfortable and easily face than the other emotions he provoked in me.

"The planning of an assault, and the interrogation of a prisoner requires patience, but it's not the calm, polite patience of a social setting. It's a calculated, adrenaline instilled venture. Mistakes made in the planning or handling of a prisoner could result in the deaths of you and your team, not just an upset host and spilled tea." I replied sagaciously.

"You sound as if you are quoting someone." His half lidded gaze belied the intensity of his eyes.

"Myself, I would tell impetuous new recruits that, whenever they complained about their boredom." He nodded and stood, following his lead we went to an adjoining room and found a quiet parlor with a crackling fire and pillows strewn near it. My dog lay on a large red pillow, basking in the radiated heat. Gracefully he glided down to sit near the hearth and I again repeated his actions and soon we where both comfortably reclined fireside. It was really quite cozy, but worry gnawed at me. _Danger, danger Will Robison, danger, I should leave, now._ I reflected urgently trying to think of a way to politely take my leave, but he spoke first.

"Do you miss your life?"

"You mean with the DK, and my family?" He nodded curtly, "I miss feeling like I belong somewhere, and sometimes I miss my sisters, and my father. I never really knew my brothers that well, and mother…" I trailed off trying to find the words, "We are not close." In finished lamely, unable to put into words the level of animosity my mother and I held for each other. Yet he nodded as if he understood. _He doesn't speak fondly of his father either, maybe he can empathize_, but I turned my thoughts away from the dangerous idea and continued into safer territory. I sighed with true regret and said, "I should leave, the dinner was a nice gesture and I've had a wonderful time, but I don't need to be here."

"Do you find my company so repellant?" His question caught me off guard; his piercing eyes arrested my own and I could not look away. His proximity was to close for me to think clearly, and my answer was more honest than I would have liked.

"No, I don't find you repellant at all, far from it; which is exactly why I should leave." I wanted to stand but I could not bring myself to move to leave him. His hand came forward and softly brushed a strand of hair back from my face. His fingers caressed my ear as he tucked the lock behind it and an uncontrolled shiver coursed down my spine as his hand came to rest on my shoulder. He leaned towards me and I could no longer smell anything but him; his impassive face was the only thing I could see.

"You haunt me. I cannot go a day, or even an hour without thoughts of you clambering in my mind. With you here, my mind is at peace, but I am at war with my sentiments." His voice was a ragged whisper, and his icy composure had cracked into a troubled facade. Somehow, through the rising flood with in my chest I managed to find my voice.

"I do not think I can take the blame for you troubled mind, or you disjointed feelings since you are the specter that frequents me and causes no end of discontent to my life." He was to close and my heart was only increasing its tempo.

"So, I am not the only one," I could not take my eyes from his lips, I was entranced.

"I told you that before." I replied irritably, still unable to lift my gaze from his enticing mouth, hoping he would not reply, hoping the movement would cease and I could break the spell.

"Indeed." And his hand trailed from my shoulder gently down my arm, another involuntary shiver went through me, and then he licked his dry lips and I was undone. Against my will, my body leaned forward and without my mind's consent I kissed him. He did not rebuff me. The hand that was on my arm moved down my back as he pulled me to him, returning my advance as his other arm wrapped around my waist. I unintentionally rolled on top of him, lost in the kiss. My tongue hungrily invaded his mouth and I eagerly tasted him, a low growl came from the back of my throat and was echoed by his own as my thighs straddled his hips. The hand on my back rubbed frantically at my tucked in tee shirt looking for access to flesh. Irritably he broke the kiss and rolled me on onto my back yanking at the offending garment until it was ripped from me.

The violence of the act brought me back to my senses a little as he deftly removed my bra. Panting I said, "This isn't right, Sesshomaru we can't…" I trailed off as his hot tongue captured my left nipple viciously and all thought was washed away in a wave of pleasure. Sluggishly my brain fought to regain control I pushed him back from me laying into the pillows as cooler air filled the void and breathlessly I tried to piece a coherent thought together. "Sesshomaru, "I tried again.

"Don't." Command, plea it was hard to tell, his breathing was as ragged as my own as his hands moved over my exposed stomach swiftly and my eyes trailed them as he reached for the button of my jeans. I let out a noise in protest as he moved to unfasten them and I reached for his hand. Our eyes met and I saw the dangerous need I felt echoed in his eyes as his yokai radiated barely contained violence. Instead of being frightened something in me responded and the overwhelming wave of desire undid my resolve as my yokai answered his own. Reaching down, and never removing my eyes from his face, I unfastened my jeans for him.

A wicked, predatory grin flashed across his face as, with one quick tug, my pants where taken from me. His hands gripped my hips before he realized I was not wearing any panties. A genuine look of surpised delight touched his features. Seizing the moment I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him into my embrace kissing him furiously as my hands began to deftly divest him of his shirt. Before I could start on his slacks, however, his fingers insinuated themselves into the pooling wetness between my thighs and my body bowed back reflexively with the pleasure his skillful ministrations produced. I moaned and he responded with a low rumble.

I felt his mouth again at my breasts and I was lost in the sensation. I don't know how his pants where removed, or when, but my next coherent recollection was of his hands gripping my hips and his penetration. The length of him slid in smoothly, a moan escaping his lips as I reflexively squeezed him. The feeling caused me to gasp my own delight and then we were moving to the rhythm of our need, encouraged by the flood of sensation until I cried out and my body spasmed in release.

Sweat dampened my flushed body. Through hooded eyes I gazed up at his physique in the firelight. He too gleamed with sweat, and his naked torso magnificent in its alien beauty. He was not overly muscular, but his body was molded into taunt athleticism by years of training. Stripes matching those on his smoothly carve features where echoed at his hips and on the wrists of the hands that would not cease their exploration of my curves as he studied the flesh beneath them.

I bore no markings on my body beyond the ones left to me from past battles. One lone claw gently raked over a scar I had to the left of my belly button before trailing downward stroking other abrasions on my person. I pulled him to me and licked the sweat on his chest, tasting him, I drew my tongue up to the pulsing vein in his neck, a shock went through me as I gently suckled and let lose a primal growl of my own. My claws raking gently down his back I was rewarded with another moan as I thrust my hips forward enjoying the feeling of moving him inside me. He remained still for several moments, his hands gripping my hips, the feeling of his claws on my sensitive skin only encouraging me to move slower, drawing the pleasure out. I gently nibbled on his throat, letting my teeth graze his flesh, his eyes fluttered shut. I bit down, bruising, but not breaking the flesh and he growled. Roughly turning me onto my stomach and entered me from behind as I went to my knees.

The ferocity of his actions was instinctive and brutal; yet instead of being alarmed by the sudden change in manner something deep with in me lurched forward in hungry, needy response as he pounded into me. My hands gripped the pillows beneath me violently as I threw my hips into his rhythm and I grunted with the effort as by mind and body were carried in a dizzying cyclone of pleasure.

The ecstasy, the need and the animal lust consumed me in that moment, it felt so right, so natural I could not question it as our bodies moved in a dance that was older than time and everything else was washed away by the shear force of it. I let him push me from my knees and felt his full weight settle onto as he continued the driving greedy motion of his hips. His hands ran up my body and I cried out in rapture when he ferociously yanked my hair away from my neck and I could feel myself nearing my climax.

He slowed his pace for a moment and I whimpered agonizingly, so lost in the moment and the need that I was fully ready to beg him not to stop when his mouth came down on the soft spot where my neck met my shoulder and he bit hard, sending me over the brink. I cried out in my release grinding into him and I felt my entire lower half tighten with it and a strangled cry came from him as his body tensed in his own orgasm.

After, I lay there, too stunned to think; my mind overloaded from the pleasure. He rolled me to my side, still inside me and lapped at the wound in my neck it sent tiny rippling shivers through me. It was a delicious sensation. A contended rumble emanated from his throat and I sighed in response, unable to speak as long as he continued to lick me, and several moments more after he had ceased.

When my brain began to work again, and I realized I was feeling far too comfortable in his embrace, _I should never have let that happen._ I wanted to lean into him and let his warmth become my own. I wanted to mold my body to his and fall asleep in his arms.

I sighed and pulled away from him, preparing to stand. His arm shot out and wrapped around my waist holding me against him. "Don't," he said colorlessly.

"I have to go, I shouldn't be here." I responded struggling to sit, he released me and I sat brushing my hair out of my face and my gaze roamed to room, looking everywhere but at his perfect naked body on the pillows next to me, I located my jeans and reached for them.

"You should be here." He said, pushing himself to a sitting position and reaching for me. I froze as he grasped my shoulders and forced me face him. "You belong here, with me, now and forever." His words sent a shiver down my spine and something deep inside me agreed with his words. For the first time in three years, my yokai, and I wanted the same thing. We both wanted him, and it frightened me.

I shook my head in denial to the longing with in me; "This is insane, what the hell is wrong with me, with you?" I replied accusingly trying to pull away. His yokai crashed over me then and the mark on my shoulder burned in response. I felt overwhelming rage boil out of him, but the mark on my shoulder ached and I felt a terrible longing and hurt that I also knew instinctively was his, masked by the rage. My hand went to the mark as my eyes widened and sorrow lurched in my stomach as I fell away from him in shock.

I did not want to be the cause of that pain. He turned away hiding his face from me, and every line of his body announced controlled rage.

I had read about the power of a mate's mark in the journals of DK prisoners, but I never expected to feel it for myself. It should have horrified me, it should have enraged me, and I should have been disgusted by the fact that I had not only fucked a demon but I'd also enjoyed it. Instead my mind was preoccupied by the injury I had just caused him, in my refusal. A confused cacophony of regrets and arguments raged in my mind. I could not bring myself to leave him, hate him or deny my feelings for him.

I let my jeans fall from my hands with a sigh, "Sesshomaru…" he looked towards me and his contempt fill visage greeted my pleading eyes and I knew that this was not something that sat easy with him either. I moved to him, sitting on his lap I straddled his hips, wrapped my arms around his neck and gazed into his eyes. "I don't care how, or why this came about. I want to be here, at your side, and in your bed, for as long as I can. This is where I belong."

He hugged me close and I rested my head on his shoulder and relaxed into the embrace. From deep inside something rose in me, and my head turned, I nuzzled his neck, my tongue came out and licked the spot where it met his shoulder, and then I bit down, hard. I heard him gasp and his arms tightened reflexively around me. His blood, sweet and thick met my lapping tongue and I felt his yokai respond. "Yes." He growled into my ear and the sound and the spicy aroma of his yearning body made me wet. He shifted me in his lap and entered me again greedily as we both gave into our desires, and I knew neither of us would get any sleep that night as I brought my legs up and wrapped them avariciously around his waste.

Sesshomaru

She had been silent during the short drive to the house opting to stare out the window rather than converse with him. The dog remained quiet in the back seat, but then domestic dogs always behaved well around their betters. When the car halted in front of the door she was out of her seatbelt and standing in the drive waiting for her pet to exit the vehicle before the engine was off. He wondered at her odd behavior, she appeared to be calm, but her erratic behavior signaled and underlying nervousness that intrigued him.

"Are you uncomfortable, being here?" He asked more out of curiosity than concern.

"No." She said shortly and looked to him expectantly, her dog ran up the steps to the front door and sat, waiting patiently for them to join him. Sesshomaru nodded once and precede her up the stairs. The front door opened before they reached it, and an ancient, obese kappa greeted them.

"You are early, Sesshomaru-sama, welcome home!" Eyeing Amalie suspiciously the toad continued, "I did not know you where expecting a guest, Sesshomaru-dono." The toad sounded more reproachful than respectful, but his master was obviously accustomed to this behavior.

"No, it was a surprise. Make sure there is enough food prepared for two, no special preparations are necessary, have tea brought to the greenhouse and then see that we are not disturbed." The little yokai's face scrunched up in disbelieving shock and he looked ready to protest his master's decision, but Sesshomaru circumvented the impending outburst, "Jaken, I want that done now and make sure this dog is shown to the front room." His commanding tone held an edge of violence; it was not something you would disagree with lightly, and the toad apparently not at all.

"Yes Sesshomaru-sama." He said bowing quickly and fled from them. Sesshomaru did not even spare a glance to his companion as he strode down the hall, expecting her to follow, silently she did.

He led her towards the back of the house and into a conservatory. She stood in stunned amazement by the door as he gracefully sat at the garden table near a magnificent waterfall in miniature. The waterfall fell from a height of at least nine feet, tumbling down basalt rocks before pooling in a basin so deep a casual observer could not readily discern a bottom to it. Some of the water ran out into a little stream feeding the surrounding vegetation of bamboo trees, orchids, lilies and hundreds of others. The smell of wet earth, ozone, and flowers caressed them; the sound of the waterfall was soothing to overactive ears and the whole scene was comforting to hypersensitive yokai senses. Her eyes closed, she took a deep breath and her entire body visibly relaxed. Sesshomaru allowed himself a short lives smile of satisfaction as he watched her lean into the doorjamb. Several moments passed before she opened her eyes and looked to him sheepishly, by then he had regained his customary composure.

"I'm sorry this place is," she paused struggling with her thoughts, "Overwhelming."

"There is no need for you to apologize." He said moving the chair next to him out from the table invitingly. He knew perfectly well that his surroundings complimented his features and the light reflecting off the water made his hair shine. It gave him an unfair advantage, yet he was not interested in playing fair, he was interested in winning his prize.

She approached him warily, claimed the proffered seat and gazed upon him consideringly. She opened her mouth to speak, but Jaken chose that time to arrive noisily with the tea. "Your tea Sesshomaru-sama." He did not answer the toad, but just waited for him to set the things down, pour the tea and leave. He stood then and went to the entrance. Without looking through the doorway or around the corner he said, "Jaken, leave now." The servant's whining apologizes could be heard receding down the hall for a moment, before they where again left in the peace of the garden and he turned his full attention back to her.

"He is very loyal." She commented and as he thought of how to reply, she changed the subject, "How long have you lived in this house?" He reclaimed his chair to her right and answered thoughtfully.

"Hmm, I purchased it two years into the Meiji Restoration so… One hundred and seventeen years, give or take."

"You've obviously redecorated a few times since then, these chairs and this table are British wrought iron and these pillows can't possibly last more than ten years, especially with the frequent use they see." He cocked a quizzical eyebrow at her, "your seat cushion." She reached forward and ran her hand a long a worn spot in the cushion near his leg, "it's fraying around the edges and is unevenly faded by the sun. Evidence that someone sits here regularly." She looked up at him and apparently just then realizing her proximity to his person; she sat back abruptly and blushed slightly, folding her hand into her lap.

"You are very observant, I myself had not noticed the depauperate condition of my furniture." He commented coolly his eyes not leaving her face. She looked away, in apparent embarrassment.

"I did not mean to insult your furnishings, it's a very lovely room and I only meant to comment on its noticeable comfort and frequent use…" She trailed off with a helpless wave of her hands her eyes fixed on a point somewhere to her left and toward the far wall.

"I am not insulted, it was a valid observation." He replied reaching for his tea. She looked up at him apologetically and took her own tea.

"I'm usually much better at conversation than this." She remarked sipping her tea.

"I am quite proficient at conversations regarding my business, but I do not have much opportunity for social discussion. I find it difficult and often unpleasant, the hindrance may lie there." She thoughtfully stared into her teacup, taking several sips before speaking again, "The tea is lovely."

"Yes."

"Well since you have now admitted that business is a comfortable topic I am obligated, out of polite curiosity, to ask what exactly it is you do." She gave him an impish smile that hinted at mischief.

"I buy companies, improve them, and then either arrange to have them managed by a subsidiary company or sell them depending on their success." She sighed in mock exasperation her eyes rolling heavenward before setting her tea on the table and leaning towards him, laughter in her eyes.

"I read the business section of the times, and I have a subscription to Forbes. I asked what it was **_you_** do, personally." She was mocking him, and he wanted to be irate about it, but she was too close. Her scent in his nose confused his normal pattern of thought and it was a struggle for him to maintain his usual icy composure, he had no energy left to find anger or annoyance.

"I make decisions on what to buy and what to sell, I meet with the head of each company and my subordinated to negotiate these transactions and I am the final say on the way each company is operated." She leaned away from him, but the confusing mix of sensations that her nearness had caused to roll in his stomach did not subside. He drank some if his tea, hoping to calm himself.

"Taisho Corp. currently owns ninety seven companies globally, purchasing on average three a month and selling twelve a year and you over see all of those transactions?" Her voice betrayed unabashed admiration. He was surprised by her knowledge and flattered by her appreciative words.

"Yes." He replied with a solemn nod.

Shaking her head ruefully she asked, "So you mean to tell me you are negotiating the Denhild buyout, the purchase of Medicon and the sale of Genco Nutrilab all at once and you managed to leave the office before five on a Thursday?" He was shocked and suspicious of her knowledge.

"How did you know about Medicon, I just received the proposed contract today. We haven't had a meeting yet and there is no possible way the media could have received that information so quickly." His obvious outrage was apparent in his icy tone.

"Don't be like that!" She exclaimed leaning forward and taking his hand into hers, alarm making her sincere and resolute, "I was attempting a sincere compliment. As to Medicon It was an obvious move. The organization has been on the decline for two years now, even though they produce seventy-eight percent of the world's medical technology mismanagement has driven it into bankruptcy. It's exactly the kind of investment your company deals in. Rumors have been flying around the papers for the past week that it's on the market; you would have had to be completely dim-witted not to have instigated negotiations. You are not a stupid man and it doesn't take a business genius to realize that either Taisho Corp or Bedalhi Inc would make a move on it, they are the only companies with the resources to bail Medicon out of the hole it's in. I bout stock yesterday at twenty-five a share and I fully expect to sell it next year for thirty times that." She trailed off embarrassed by her earnest speech, but her insistent eyes did not leave his face. He laced his fingers through her own, examining the way her tiny claws looked against the back of his hand his irritation gone, cowed by her impassioned speech.

"I am flattered by your faith in my company and my intelligence." He said in a preoccupied tone and was rewarded by a small laugh.

"I don't operate on faith, faith can be misled or injudicious. I work on facts. The facts are Taisho Corp is run ruthlessly and well with little turnover, no large job losses and record profits. You are not just an example of good business, you're the paradigm everyone else tries to reproduce."

"You flatter me."

"Modesty does not suite you, Sesshomaru, I merely spoke the truth. I have no intention of unnecessarily praising you; it serves no purpose." Her voice had become soft and distracted. F_rom a sword_ He thought as he ran his thumb over the calluses on her palm and he heard her heartbeat increase its tempo. He stopped the motion, loosening his hold on her hand. Looking to her face once more, he expected the appendage to be withdrawn, but she did not break their connection. Allowing her hand to rest comfortably in his as she slowly relaxed back into her chair.

"I did not expect you to be such a shrewd judge of corporate matters." She smiled at him, and he realized he was beginning to enjoy the frequency and ease in which that look was aimed towards him.

"Now you must explain that remark or I may be insulted." She teased.

"Hmmm. I mean to say that I did not expect such a discerning mind to be working as a stock clerk at a bar and the Demon Killers do not seem like an organization that would lend its members to an understanding of corporate transactions." His words made her chuckle.

"It's only because you don't understand how the DK works, or me for that matter. How in the world to you think they are funded? Huntsmen have been trained for generations to go out into the world and managed dummy corporations, donating large shares of their proceeds to the DK. A corporate setting would have been the first place they would have look for me, and the one they would monitor the most intensely. Taking great pains to research anyone who shot up the ladder to quickly or seemed to shine to brightly in their field. A small business was less suspicious and bars are fun to work in." She let out a melancholy sigh and he struggled to return her to her affable mood.

"I had not seen you dog until today, he does not appear to have a pedigree." He ventured desperately and was rewarded with a sardonic smile.

"He's a pound foundling, breeding is not something their known for. Careful though, you are venturing back into social conversation, I would not want to tax your skills, Sesshomaru." It was illogical, if anyone else on the planet had ever addressed him so informally and in such a teasing manner they would have soon after experience the inconvenience of eating through a straw for the rest of their lives. Yet, from her, he was pleased and astounded. _I would never expect her to be this comfortable around me; her presence confuses me and fills me with a mountain of unwanted emotions. She is a weakness but I cannot let her go, when she is away from me I am even more preoccupied and filled with anxiety. She is also a source of information. I need her._ But whether to calm the fretfulness at her absents or for the information she held, he could not say.

"I am willing to risk it the challenge." She let lose a hearty laugh.

"My God, that was almost a joke, careful now I might get the mistaken impression you have a sense of humor and then you'll never be able to live with the consequences."

"And those would be?" He asked quirking and eyebrow at her.

"Well for one I would quickly realize your icy demeanor is a facade to avoid people, and secondly I'd be petitioning for your satirically amusing observations. Hounding you constantly to lighten up, maybe even laugh every once and a while; begging you to show off that stunning smile I've been graced with so briefly… You'd never be rid of me and I'd ruin your reputation as a antisocial badass completely." She finished in artificial matter-of-factness, grinning up at him and giving his hand playful squeeze.

"Doubtful, you would only make me appear to be a long-suffering, antisocial badass." His tone didn't change, it was still glacier cold, but there was a twinkle in his eye and an unperceivable upward twitch to the corners of his lips and she let out another wholehearted peal of laughter.

"Well, wonders never cease indeed! Who knew you could be charming?"

"I can be very charming if I wish, irresistible in fact," he retorted arrogantly.

"I didn't mean seductive charm, that I'm aware you have in spades. No I have no doubt you could charm the pants off of anything living in four seconds flat. I was speaking more to witticism, social charm; I'm astounded that you not only possess a measure of it but know how to apply it to a conversation." She scoffed.

"I was quite charming as a child." He responded haughtily.

"Pray tell, what happened to this amazing charm?" She teased.

"Gratefully I grew out of it."

"Why do you say gratefully?"  
"Being charming requires a great deal of energy and care. It also attracts a large crowed and I do not appreciate social settings."

"Yes, you've remarked on that before it must have been dreadful for you."

"Unspeakably so, I assure you." He responded drawing his hand from hers irately.

Her expression softened and all mocking left her voice, "Well then I shall not morn your loss of sociability, but I am glad you did not completely lose your ability to charm. I believe it is an even more attractive trait in you for its infrequency." She gave him a compassionate smile and reached for his hand again he allowed her to take it. She gave him an intense look and said, "You have stalked, terrified, harassed and harangued me since the instant we met. There have only been a few tantalizing moments that where I was actually comfortable in your presence, and one of use usually screws it up by saying or doing the wrong thing. I would like to make this one last a while longer, before that happens."

Her words inspired so many more in him, a confusing flurry of sensations raged with in his breast, _I have never wanted to fuck her more_ a clear thought in the pandemonium that raged, but then, anything in that direction would reinforce her words. "What makes you think that will happen?" He asked instead and she sighed.

"Because it is the way between us, because neither of us is suited for peace and quiet, and because the gap between us is so very large, and I for one refuse to cross it."

"Indeed." He said sadly. Amalie stood and he thought that she would leave, but her hand never left his grip and instead she nudged her chair closer to his. Seating herself again and using his captured hand, she pulled his arm around her, placing the hand on her shoulder and releasing it. He did not protest, confused by her actions as she leaned into his side and drew his free hand into her own pulling it to her face and letting her lips brush his knuckles before letting it fall.

"Lets just sit here, pretending we are friends for a while." She murmured softly.

"I believe I would like to be you friend, Amalie." He answered interlacing the fingers of his free hand with hers.

"We'll see." She answered and they slipped into a companionable silence. Her hand folded in his on his lap, sharing the warmth of the moment, the sound of rushing water and their heartbeats where the only things to hear. Her eyes drifted shut and she melted into him, he could not help the sense of fond contentment her peaceful composure in his presence brought upon him.

"I love this room, it's very comfortable," She murmured softly, "I can see why someone would spend a lot of time in here. It's so soothing; if I lived here you'd have to use some serious force to get me to leave it."

"Indeed."

Time passed peacefully as the sun faded from the room and soft electric lamps jumped to life. He gently removed her hand from his own and let it rest on his leg as he gently pushed her hair back from her face. Her eyes had opened at the release on her hand and she looked to him in confusion. "Jaken is coming." He answered her silent question and she nodded, lazily pulling her hand from his thigh and moving from his embrace. The sensation of her hand unconsciously dragging across the skin of his thigh momentarily ignited another feeling within him and he wrestled with it as she stood and gave a lazy stretch. His eyes where transfixed by the innocuous motion and he dug his fingers into the table in an effort to control the flood of desire. Her muscles flexed, arms stretched above her head and her back bowed as she let out a small yawn before relaxing and looking around the dim garden. He loosened his grip and fought to regain his composure, desperately searching for the lost tranquility he had found with her just moments before.

"Wow, this place was cozy in the sunlight, but it's lovely with these lights." She turned to him and he was grateful his features where hidden in the shadow of his hair. The light danced off of the waterfall and clever submersible lights illuminated the pool making it glow with its own radiance. He did not respond and unperturbed, she continued, "I bet it all glows in the moonlight, it must be magical." Earnestly she turned to him, "please tell me these lights aren't allowed on when the moon is out." He chuckled at her and she smiled brightly.

"You may rest assured they are not." His tone was tender and content, even to his own ears. She let out a sigh and again he was grateful to the shadows for hiding his smile.

"You have a nice laugh." He wanted to respond somehow but before his befuddled mind could form a reasonable reply.

Jaken's whiney voice broke the magic of the moment. "Sesshomaru-sama, dinner is served in the dining room." _Why did I not tell him that we would be eating here?_ He thought irately, reluctant to leave the affable enchanted the conservatory had wrought between them for the formality of the dining room.

"That will be all, Jaken." His voice had recovered its customary arctic temperature as he dismissed his servant and stood. Not waiting to see if Amalie would follow he lead the way to the dinning hall. He pulled a chair out for Amalie and waited for her to be seated before claiming his own.

The meal laid out was simple, and did not meet with his approval. He had told Jaken no special arrangements where necessary, but that was only for Amalie's benefit, Jaken should have known better than to take him at face value, _he will have to be dealt with later, this is beyond absurd _he tried not to let his furry show as he spoke to her, "Forgive the fair, I was not expecting guests."

"I don't mind, it's a vast improvement on my original dinner plans." Anger registered, and it occurred to him that he did not want her to be making plans with others, _when did I become so possessive of her? She is nothing to me_. Yet, he knew he lied.

"You did not mention plans."

"Oh, it's not like I had reservations, unless I left them at home with my TV dinner and the TiVo." Relief banish the anger, and set aside a troublesome feeling he suppose might have been jealousy. He smiled a little.

"No masses to slaughter or yokai to liberate or inconvenience tonight?" he mocked.

Her short answer and stiff attitude annoyed him. They had been getting along very well and her change in demeanor was aggravating, silently he cursed Jaken again for placing them in the dining room as they slipped into silence. Her clumsiness with the dinnerware amused him, but he did not allow it to show, after a few moments he found it difficult not to remove the chopsticks from her and feed her himself. His immense reservoir of self-control, served him in good stead, however, and when she set her meal aside and spoke he was rewarded. Their conversation became more like it had been in the garden, until he said, "You must have had some measure of patience to torture prisoners and deftly plan assaults on your victims," he had meant it as a compliment, but it had been to frankly worded and he saw pain cross her face. _Baka, any other woman and I would have her in my bed by now! We would not be discussing utensils and patience! Why is this so difficult?_

"The planning of an assault, and the interrogation of a prisoner requires patience, but it's not the calm, polite patience of a social setting. It's a calculated, adrenaline instilled venture. Mistakes made in the planning or handling of a prisoner could result in the deaths of you and your team, not just an upset host and spilled tea." It was said emotionlessly, but with conviction and he recognized memorized words. And he struggled to change the subject and bring her back to her earlier disposition. _I have to get her out of this room, _he thought and standing he lead the way to the parlor.

When they had settled he asked, "Do you miss your life?" and she relaxed a little as her thoughts where turned to the emotional topic of her family. He understood all to well how confusing your thoughts can be when thinking on family and he was not surprised that she was so conflicted over the issue. _The DK do not appear to be the kind that would show a child a great deal of affection, or inspire love in their offspring._ His observation was rewarded when she mentioned her mother.

She heaved a mournful sigh and said, "I should leave, the dinner was a nice gesture and I've had a wonderful time, but I don't need to be here." Her tone was sad and reluctant, he fought ineffective fury and the urge to hold her down and force her to stay.

"Do you find my company so repellant?" His tone was scornful even to himself. Rejection was not something he'd ever been subjected to, and he struggled with the need to punish her for making him feel so unstable.

"No, I don't find you repellant at all, far from it; which is exactly why I should leave." She said, but her scent spoke louder to him than her words, and there was desire in the air. _This game, my dear I know better than you, _he thought triumphantly as he reached forward on the pretext of pushing her hair back, but in truth it was to trail his fingers over the tip of her sensitive ears and he was rewarded with a tremble as he rested his hand on her shoulder possessively. He leaned in sending tendrils of his aura out to her, and was caught in the trap of her enchanting scent.

_Kami! I need to fuck her!_ The need was a burning torture, but more beguiling words came to his lips as he played his game, "You haunt me. I cannot go a day, or even an hour without thoughts of you clambering in my mind. With you here, my mind is at peace, but I am at war with my sentiments." He was surprised by his voice, it was a shadow of what he'd intended it to be and he felt his restraint slipping. He lost track of the conversation as her eyes drifted downward he ran his fingers along the soft flesh of her arm, evoking another delicious shiver, he licked his lips intending to try a different tack when she broke the stalemate, and her lips met his hungrily. As she rolled on top of him and molded her body to his own he felt a possessive shock go through him as something within recognized an integral missing piece that belonged to him. Any hope of her leaving that night was lost in that moment, as a dangerous necessity to claim what was his took him.

A perilous moment occurred when she tried to deny him and he waged a battle not to force her, their eyes met and his yokai rolled forward in warning. Her own responded with an enticing wisp of invitation before she startled him by unfastening her pants for him.

After, he held her to him. Possessively taking in the delicious scent of her, content to let the perfect, exhausted bliss of the moment last for eternity, but he felt her shift in his arms, and he knew she would try to leave him, and deny both of them the pleasure. Again anger boiled inside him at her stubborn stupidity and ridiculous morality, _she is mine and she will recognize that_. He reached for her retreating form and wrapped his arm around her hips, "Don't," he warned.

"I have to go, I shouldn't be here." She reached again for her jeans and he allowed her to leave him, hoping to use reason, before force.

"You should be here." He wanted to slap her, fuck her, hold her to him, anything to make her realize she belong to him and only him. She held a necessary piece of him inside her, and now that he had found it he could not let it go. "You belong here, with me, now and forever." He struggled to hold his yokai back as it fought to lash out and smother her into submission.

"This is insane, what the hell is wrong with me, with you?" rage won out as his yokai rushed loose and his gripped his hands into fists resisting the urge to lash out and looked away so that she could not see the raw emotion in his face. _Even now she denies me. She denies what she is, and her idiocy makes me weak._ "Sesshomaru…" He heard her pants fall to the floor and his name on her lips. He looked towards and braced himself for more of her despicable excuses or brainless justifications. But she surprised him by doing none of that. There eyes met and the raw pain he saw there melted his rage, she went to him straddled his hips and held to her. "I don't care how, or why this came about. I want to be here, at your side, and in your bed, for as long as I can. This is where I belong."

He hugged her close in relief. Cherishing his victory, and closed her eyes as the delicious sensation of her tongue on his neck began to arouse him again and then her teeth tore into that flesh and his yokai rolled forward in urgent demand as she claimed him. "Yes." He growled and the scent of her answering arousal sent him over the edge as he entered her again and they fell together.

Damocles lay in the kitchen at Jaken's feet, and what he thought, no one cared.


End file.
